{"pk":64756,"title":"Introduction, JWA Special Issue on Disability, Neurodivergence, and Writing Assessment ","subtitle":null,"abstract":"<p>This essay provides an introduction to the special issue on alternative writing assessment and disability/neurodivergence. The editors argue that anti-ableist theories of writing assessment are rooted in disciplinary efforts to address prior discrimination in writing assessment and subsequent work seeking to cultivate fairer, student-centered practices in both classroom and institutional spaces. Building on the work of scholars in disability studies and writing assessment, as well as the contributors to this special issue, the editors further contend that the diversity of experiences with disability/neurodivergence means that frameworks for anti-ableist writing assessment must be multivocal and plural, integrating values from disability studies, including the importance of foregrounding disabled experiences and acknowledging varied timeframes and methods for work and writing. The essay provides an overview of the contributors’ essays and concludes with an encouragement to readers to incorporate these articles into their research, teaching, and programmatic activities. </p>","language":"eng","license":{"name":"Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs  4.0","short_name":"CC BY-NC-ND 4.0","text":"Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.\r\n\r\nNonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.\r\n\r\nNoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.\r\n\r\nNo additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0"},"keywords":[{"word":"disability"},{"word":"neurodivergence"},{"word":"writing assessment"},{"word":"alternative assessment"},{"word":"grading"},{"word":"placement"},{"word":"fairness"},{"word":"equity"},{"word":"equitable"}],"section":"Special Issue on Neurodivergence & Disability in Writing Assessment","is_remote":true,"remote_url":"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5rx5c6f2","frozenauthors":[{"first_name":"Andrew","middle_name":"","last_name":"Harnish","name_suffix":"","institution":"University of Alaska Anchorage","department":"Dept of Writing"},{"first_name":"Megan","middle_name":"","last_name":"Von Bergen","name_suffix":"","institution":"Murray State University","department":""}],"date_submitted":"2026-04-30T18:01:20.836917Z","date_accepted":"2026-04-30T19:46:09.843396Z","date_published":"2026-05-18T14:38:43.375929Z","render_galley":{"label":"PDF","type":"pdf","path":"https://journalpub.escholarship.org/jwa/article/64756/galley/50306/download/"},"galleys":[{"label":"PDF","type":"pdf","path":"https://journalpub.escholarship.org/jwa/article/64756/galley/50306/download/"}]}