What if everything we’ve been taught about "normal" access is wrong?

This space exists because too many Deaf+ students—learners who are Deaf or hard of hearing with additional disabilities—are evaluated for placement instead of being given meaningful access. Too often, they are overlooked.

Hi, we are Janey and Kelly. As teachers, researchers, and hosts of the Beyond the Label podcast, we work closely with the neurodiversity community. In our time across special education and Deaf education classrooms, IEP meetings, and systemic frameworks, we’ve noticed a critical, recurring issue: access is too often defined by compliance, paperwork, or physical setting, rather than by communication, belonging, identity, or agency.

This blog is our space to look beyond the label, to think, write, and ask better questions about what true access really means. Whether we are unpacking SPED law, dismantling institutional gatekeeping, or sharing the lived experiences of families and educators, our goal remains the same: moving past fear and compliance toward empathy, connection, and true inclusion.

Pull up a chair, dive into our zero-gatekeeping resource hub, and let’s change how we perceive disability together.