Raising a daughter with Down syndrome has changed Jennifer Mooradian’s (MA ’22) perceptions of disability and inspired her research, which she hopes will make a positive impact in sport for cognitively and intellectually disabled athletes.

The Brock University PhD in Applied Health Sciences candidate was recently awarded a $25,000 grant from Special Olympics Canada for new research examining self-representation of disabled athletes within Special Olympics sports.

“Jennifer’s research has the potential to shift disability narratives informed by ableism that see disability as a negative,” says Mooradian’s supervisor Dawn Trussell, Professor of Sport Management and a Chancellor’s Chair for Research at Brock. “Her work will challenge the status quo of how we think about and work with persons with intellectual disabilities in sport.”

Mooradian says individuals with intellectual disabilities are some of the most marginalized individuals in society, and representation of disabled athletes tends to come from a “benevolent ableist” perspective.

“Representation matters, and when representation is taken out of the hands of the group that’s being represented, it’s often done in ways that aren’t authentic,” she says. “Society places these athletes on a pedestal and invokes a ‘supercrip’ narrative that they can overcome despite having a disability.”

As the parent of a child with Down syndrome, Mooradian has a vested interest in disability in sport.

While people with this genetic disorder have historically been framed as a vulnerable population in need of protection, she recognizes that her 16-year-old daughter Emi and other disabled people are experts of their own lives and have valuable knowledge Mooradian doesn’t because she is not currently disabled.

“Raising Emi really changed who I am. It made me see things differently,” she says. “There are different ways of being in the world, of constructing our existence. People with disabilities have a lot of knowledge to share, but we often discount it because of our own ableism.”

With this perspective in mind, Mooradian is designing her research to be accessible and inclusive. While research typically involves individuals participating in a certain number of interviews or observing research subjects, Mooradian’s collaborative research design will involve disabled athletes in all phases of the research process and will allow participants the flexibility to come and go from the project.

Data collection could also vary. Mooradian says her daughter would prefer to make a video, while others might like to create a piece of visual art or work collaboratively with peers on a collage.

The intent is that participants will also benefit from developing their own knowledge and skills by participating in the research project.

“I don’t want this research to focus solely on extracting knowledge from others,” says Mooradian. “I hope to add to a growing body of knowledge that situates disability as a benefit. It’s a collaborative piece where we’re all working as an ensemble and we’re entangled in this idea of making unique and creative knowledge together.”

Mooradian hopes her research will help shift society’s perspectives, lead to better representation of disabled athletes, advance advocacy efforts and encourage more people to engage in sport, which can offer social opportunities, improve self-esteem and reduce physical and mental health disparities.

“It’s not the disability that limits an individual. It’s our own limited ways of thinking about disability,” she says.

Mooradian’s research is in its initial stages and she will be seeking participants soon. Anyone interested in contributing to her research project is asked to email her at jm17lf@brocku.ca