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Author’s note: Language for speaking about or for a group one might not identify with can be fraught with challenges—preconceived ideas, ignorance, ableism, etc. Acknowledging that we are in various stages of understanding, for the purpose of this blog, the author has chosen to use person-first language, such as learners with intellectual and other cognitive disabilities (learners with ID).

I’ve written before about my puzzling, complex, red-headed little boy who is autistic. Now, he’s more of an auburn-headed giant man. When did that happen? I must not have been looking, happily drifting along with him in school, content, involved, learning and maturing, even if not on a “typical” path.

My son also has a mild intellectual disability. He’s always struggled with reading and writing, and math. More recently, this was labeled by a professional. Should that make a difference? It certainly doesn’t to us…he’s the same guy he was the day before. 

Now he’s “launched,” as a colleague put it. We’re now outside of the cocoon of school, both looking back with 20/20 vision (but that’s something for another blog) and looking forward. 

So I think about jobs, hobbies, quality of life in the years to come, wearing both my mom hat and my ND in STEM at TERC hat. At ND in STEM, our work focuses on working with neurodivergent (ND) co-designers and other STEM learners, usually those who are autistic or have ADHD. Other STEM researchers and developers are thinking about accessibility for those who are blind/low vision or who have mobility challenges or are deaf/hard of hearing. But I keep coming back to where someone with a mild intellectual disability fits in STEM. I searched, I mean I really searched, online for real stories of people with intellectual disabilities and positive connections to STEM. Did anyone just love a certain STEM field? Did anyone have experience with school or outside of school STEM programs? Did they have aspirations to become a STEM professional? I reached out on social media to support organizations and parent groups to see if anyone had a story to share. I just couldn’t find much of anything. One mother did share that her boys liked Snap Circuits, but then the story ended.

You know how parents say, “You can be anything you want to be if you put your mind to it?” Can I say that my son can be a rocket engineer? No, because he can’t. He just won’t. He doesn’t have the expertise or cognitive abilities in the areas he needs to make that happen. But can he love rockets and thinking about how they work and be called a scientist? Yes! But I wonder if he, or society, recognizes that. We should.

STEM is everywhere in everyday life. I’m arguing that we could and should highlight it, call it out as STEM, and acknowledge the connection. And if it is interest or obsession based only, this connection should get the same applause as any vocational connection. My son can be what I call STEM-adjacent. Example: Many vocational programs for people with disabilities include work on farms. Hello biology! Do you have to understand all the chemistry behind photosynthesis? No. But can you recognize that certain plants grow better in the shade and others grow better in full sunlight? Or that they really don’t grow in the closet? Can you be a zoologist, maybe not one who researches the life cycle of earthworms, but one who can list every mammal in the local zoo in alphabetical order? Yes.

Honestly, my son doesn’t really care about biology. But give him a map and public transportation, and he’s all over it. Does that make him an engineer or city planner? Maybe not in our sense of those careers, but he’s STEM adjacent. Sheesh, I’m regretting coining the phrase “STEM-adjacent.” I should walk my own walk…he’s not adjacent to it, he’s in it! 

My son is currently in a post-graduation program. (To be clear, he’s not in grad school…see how language can be ambiguous?) His school is involved with Project Search, a program that connects people with disabilities to hospital work. Think of all the STEM in a hospital… and think of the biology and anatomy; think of the computer networks that connect records to doctors to patient portals; think of seeing patterns in what meal you might deliver to someone who just had their tonsils removed versus someone who is just in for a broken leg.

There’s a kid at my son’s school who can’t stop talking about speaker hook ups and gaffer’s tape (sound engineer). There’s a kid who is obsessed with construction and real estate (engineering). There’s a kid who is a fantastic drummer (math and physics much?). There’s a kid who works at the local organic farm, harvesting and noticing how the years are getting drier and drier (botanist and climate change). Will these kids with ID have lifelong careers with sustainable wages in STEM fields? Likely not as we traditionally think about STEM careers. Will they be called engineers or biologists or mathematicians? Almost certainly not. But they should be. They are in STEM. And should be encouraged to see themselves in STEM.

The ND in STEM team would love to hear stories from learners with ID or their guardians who have aspirations for a career in STEM, who are interested in STEM topics, and/or have interest ignited by work or other programs, in or out of school. Contact us here with your stories.