Attending to Disability in TESOL: A Case of Patterned Inequities

Abstract This article in the special issue commemorating TESOL Quarterly's anniversary documents that scholarship in the intersection of TESOL and disability is a relatively newer phenomenon. It draws on scholarship from TESOL Quarterly and the field more broadly to illuminate how research, although emergent, points to an alarming trend: that multilingual learners (MLs) with disabilities experience repeated, predictable compromises to their language learning opportunities in their K–12 education. These patterned inequities surface across scholarship in the journal and field, highlighting how MLs with disabilities have diminished access to opportunities that would advance their multilingual and academic growth. The article further discusses the common conceptual and methodological approaches used in prior scholarship that elucidate these inequities. It also provides implications of challenging patterned inequities for MLs with disabilities in TESOL through pedagogy and future research.