Prof.
Jessica Block Nerren, the editor of the book,
Rethinking Perception and Centering the Voices of Unique Individuals: Reframing Autism Inclusion in Praxis, has been working in disability field for a very long time, first as a communications professional, then as a family advocate for her child with disabilities, meanwhile developing her business and scholarship in this unique field. For instance, on the practical side, she helped raise millions of dollars for autism nonprofits through her communications work, which she later used as classroom tools in the communications courses she taught. On the scholarly side, she has always researched how to use communication for inclusion in various forms and for various efforts dating as far back as 2011, first with juvenile crime diversion in her master's work, and then in autism inclusion in her scholarship and in her doctorate.
Today, we are delighted to welcome Prof. Jessica Block Nerren, who will share her valuable insights regarding her publication.
What was the driving force or motivation for starting this book project?
Prof. Nerren: I was motivated to create this scholarly thread through the book in order to amplify the voices of self advocates into the work of discussing inclusion.
What specific problems does your book address?
Prof. Nerren: The book addresses the need for multidisciplinary inclusion research, not just research on disability as a deficit, but inclusion research as an absolute need in the lives of self advocates in a way that is not fully present yet and as disability as an asset based strength that warrants a different view point about the social construction of disability or difference.
How does the book provide a solution to these problems?
Prof. Nerren: My book offers curriculum, resources, trainings, and the theoretical and methodological scholarly underpinnings in order for this work to have meaningful impact not only in research settings but also in daily life.
What do you think this book changes this field of study?
Prof. Nerren: This book lays the foundation for a new theory that will be forthcoming in more detail: autcrit, which is introduced in the final chapter of the book. This theory is about identifying the intersectionality of oppression in order to make a different better and brighter future. The tenets of autcrit can only be made with the insight and rich lived experience of scholars with autism and so this is forthcoming in deep collaboration with others.
Similarly this book is the first scholarly work I know of where self advocates were on the review panels for every single chapter in the book. Their involvement is meaningful, structural and purposeful and not performative.
How unique is this book within its topic coverage?
Prof. Nerren: I do not know of another book like this book in the sense that it spanned so many disciplines and the common thread was not a silo of scholarship but rather a commonality across many silos. It is itself an act of resistance to bridge the divides that keep us separate in inclusion scholarship and I’m very thankful to IGI for the opportunity and belief they had in
my work.
What do you hope to accomplish when it comes to your work/research?
Prof. Nerren: I’m not a disability researcher in the sense that I don’t do research on people with differences nor would I. I do disability inclusion research with the disability community on how institutions can do right by people with differences, in particular autism, in our respective communities, fields of practice, and beyond. I want to assist in amplifying and centering the voices of people with differences in research every step of the way: to answer the questions that the community has, develop inclusive research practices, and even work with individuals with autism in developing new critical theories and research methodologies so that others can continue in this thread of scholarship.
What are you most proud of when it comes to your work/research?
Prof. Nerren: I’m proud that almost exactly a year to the day after completing my doctorate, the book "Rethinking Perception and Centering the Voices of Unique Individuals: Reframing Autism Inclusion in Praxis” came out featuring inclusion scholars across the country. I owe a lot to my dissertation committee at CSUSB and some of the amazing professors I learned from and have worked alongside over the years: Dr. Becky Sumbera, Dr. Ahlam Muhtaseb, Dr. Erica Howell, Dr. Hannah Kivalahula-Uddin, Dr. Chad Sweeney, Dr. Liliana Conlisk Gallegos, Dr. Larry Hygh, Professor Roberto Oregel, Dr. Edna Martinez, Dr. Brad Owen and so many more who helped encourage me as I continued in this work. They encouraged me to pitch for and ultimately publish an edited scholarly book from my research in my dissertation. I could not have done it without them. Every single chapter in that book was not only reviewed by scholars and practitioners but also by people who were neurodivergent as part of the peer review process. I do not know of another scholarly book that has implemented in this manner but I would love to connect with a scholarly research community that also does this if they are out there I’m eager to learn more from them. That was really important to me that there was self representation throughout the book. We just had a book launch book reading where authors with and without differences came together on Feb. 2 to read excerpts of their chapters. It was profound and powerful and I feel so lucky to be collaborating with such a passionate scholarly community in these ways.
About Editor
Jess Nerren Ed.D is a researcher of Disability Inclusion, Public Relations and Teacher Education as a full time faculty member at CSUSB in the Department of Communication Studies. Currently, Dr. Nerren is on special assignment as the Interim Faculty Director of Services to Students with Disabilities office at CSUSB, where she oversees accommodations for over 1,000 students on campus. She is alum. of CSUSB, completing her Educational Doctorate in 2021. In addition, she has an M.A. in Communications from CSU Fullerton, where she was awarded as the CSUF College of Communications Outstanding Graduate Student in 2012. At CSUSB, Professor Nerren teaches classes in Public Relations and Strategic Communication at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Dr. Nerren is the founder of CoyotePR, the student-run PR agency on campus. In that role, she led a team of students to win the PRSA Inland Empire Polaris Capella Award for excellence in PR tactics in 2019. She has sourced over $90,000 in internal and external funding for the benefit of her students and for the development of an important research agenda on inclusion in many forms.
Departmentally, she has previously served as the Internship Coordinator for the Department of Communication Studies, the Communication Symposium producer, a Q2S faculty advisor, department webmaster and the Guest Advisor for Photojournalism to the Coyote Chronicle, the campuswide student newspaper. Service to the university has included public relations and web consulting for Academic Technologies and Innovation and Information Technology Services.
For more than twenty years, outside of the CSUSB community, Dr. Nerren worked as a public relations, marketing, and photography professional including as the president of her own public relations firm, Felten Media Services. In this capacity, she served as PR and Marketing Director for multiple law firms, and she was also the publicist for Autism Speaks Southern California for many years. Her work led her to serve clients in sports, entertainment, media, the arts, event, nonprofit, publishing, and professional services.
Dr. Nerren also served as a contributing photojournalist for the Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Daily News Group, with a daily readership of over 800,000 homes. Later, she served as a high-end event and executive portrait photographer in addition to running her PR firm.
In the community, Dr. Nerren is heavily involved in the autism nonprofit and behavioral health community with past and current service: on the Autism Speaks Parent Advisory Board to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, on the executive committee of the Riverside County Special Education Local Plan Area as Public Information Officer and Legislative Chair, as a founding board member of The Miracle Project national nonprofit, as the communications chair of the Los Angeles, Orange County, Santa Barbara and San Diego Autism Walks, and on the Stakeholder Committee and Diversity Special Interest Group for CalABA, the state governing body for behavior analysts in the State of California providing services to individuals with autism and other developmental and behavioral needs.
About IGI Global
Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA with a subsidiary office (IGI Science and Technology, Ltd.) operating out of Beijing, China, IGI Global is a leading medium-sized independent international academic publisher of scholarly reference sources. They are committed to facilitating the discovery of pioneering scientific research that enhances and expands the body of knowledge available to the research community through traditional and open access publishing workflows. Working in close collaboration with more than 200,000+ expert researchers and professionals from leading institutions, IGI Global publishes quality peer-reviewed content in three major academic subject areas:
Learn more about IGI Global
here.