I am surprised and delighted by the themed edition of the Journal of Inclusive Practice in Further and Higher Education (JIPFHE) presented here which has been guest edited by our esteemed colleague Victoria Jackson, from Sheffield Hallam University, and partially funded by the LSE Annual Fund. Guest editing is extremely hard work and this publication has been at least twelve months in the making.

I am sure that readers will find the contents challenging and thought provoking as well as practically useful. Disability as a contested identity emerges strongly as a theme and the notion of disabled naming as a gateway to services is problematised as sitting uncomfortably within inclusive institutions. LSE have provided funding because the theme of this edition sits very comfortably with the LSE First Disability Identity Conference of 4th May 2011 and the journal will be made available to delegates of the conference. Some sample abstracts from the conference are included to provide a flavour of the event.

Readers are provided with the opportunity to explore an evidence base, informed by disabled people and allies, against which to examine assumptions and consider practice. A number of questions are sure to arise and further discussion will inevitably take place within and beyond NADP. My concern is always for students, or prospective students, who are not comfortable with disclosure, or do not have the formal medical model diagnosis so often necessary and are therefore excluded from assistance. Mindful of the significance of diagnostic labels for individuals, NADP plans to launch a research project to explore issues of disabled naming and identity with students over the next twelve months.

Sincere thanks to Vicki, our hard working Guest Editor, to our rigorous

Editorial Board and to all contributors.

Nicola Martin, Editor (London School of Economics).

Guest Editorial

The original call for papers for this edition of the journal asked for articles relating to transition. For some reason I assumed the articles would simply relate to practical projects and dialogue around organizing transition into HE and into employment. Whilst some articles do report projects of this type, others explore the wider context of transition, encompassing themes relating to personal identity and disability disclosure. As a result, I‘m very happy to say that we can offer you a stronger discourse, and a vital one. Whilst many of us are trying hard to build a fully inclusive approach in Higher Education, equal access remains dependent upon students’ acceptance of the disability label. Without disclosing a disability, students cannot access funding from Disabled Student Allowances (in the UK) and of course find themselves outside the protection afforded by the equalities legislation.

It’s been a great pleasure to include the following articles:

Colin Cameron writes about the experience and meaning of impairment and disability. He takes the social model as a starting point, looks at how disabled people and professionals can be complicit in maintaining oppression and finally outlines the affirmative model of disability as a way of making sense of the experience of living with impairment in a disabling society.

Judith Garrett explores the concept of resilience, relating it to the experiences of individuals with dyslexia in education and in particular, those involved in the transition to HE.

Charlotte Morris reports on an action research project exploring student mental health and wellbeing in relation to learning and teaching interventions within one university.

Jonathan Harvey brings a valuable insider perspective, making recommendations for support in HE, drawing from his personal experience of attending university twice, once as a neuro-typical and once as a neuro-diverse individual.

Jack Tramell reports on a project focusing on the stigmatization of disabled students as they make the transition from secondary to post- secondary education in the USA.

Nicola Martin uses participatory research data from people who identify with the Asperger syndrome label to outline an alternative, inclusive model for the PhD viva.

In a collaborative paper, Rowena Atkinson Claire Gandy, Clare Graham, Sarah Hendrickx, Victoria Jackson, Dr Nicola Martin and Louise Rainford, discuss aspects of social interaction experienced by individuals with the AS label and outline a small scale peer mentor project run within a UK university for students with the Asperger label.

Louise Loughlin and Sarah Smart, outline a regional project supporting the transition of disabled learners from Further to Higher Education. The project team has delivered a cornucopia of activities over the last two years, from an aspiration raising scheme to a whole calendar of information events for students, parents and practitioners.

Charlene Tait, Catriona Mowat, and Anna Cooper report on a small scale research project investigating the range of support applicants on the autism spectrum might expect when accessing Higher Education in Scotland and in particular, look at the efficacy of a summer transition programme at one university.

Victoria Jackson, Guest Editor (Sheffield Hallam University).

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