This article critiques the ways adult educators discuss disability. To enhance the discourse on disability from a critical perspective, the authors present concepts and theories from disability studies useful for a critical examination of disability in adult education. Disability should be an important concern for adult education and adult…

Ableism is discrimination on the grounds that being able bodied is the normal and superior human condition. In contrast, being "disabled" is linked to ill health, incapacity, and dependence. These understandings become institutionalized in the beliefs, language, and practices of nondisabled people and create barriers to equitable social…