ABSTRACT
Research on the general population's attitudes toward persons with disabilities (PWD) is an important task in a variety of academic fields. The lack of accurate information about PWD will continue to be an ongoing problem unless students substantially increase their knowledge toward PWD and develop more favorable attitudes toward them. Gilson and Dymond found that instructors with disabilities tended to downplay their conditions, characterizing them as chronic or acute medical conditions instead of disabilities. Their study revealed that the hesitancy of instructors with disabilities to describe themselves as having a disability seemed to be a communication strategy employed to convince others and themselves of their fitness to carry out their respective job duties and responsibilities. This chapter provides if instructors with disabilities, whether teaching in traditional face-to-face or online learning environments, can positively influence the attitudes of their students toward PWD.
