Kara Ayers, PhD

This article posits a substantial expansion of the Foundational Principles rooted in the writings of Beatrice Wright, Tamara Dembo and Roger Baker from 1972. The current reviews the history and expansion of the Foundational Principles through the years. Noting that advocacy is also deeply rooted in rehabilitation psychology and an identified area of competency in practice. Advocacy models are promoted in psychology and internationally as noted through the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities international treaty of the United Nations. In perspective, the field of rehabilitation psychology is challenged to embrace the broader approach to advocacy impacting individuals, institutions, research, practice and policy. The authors’ analysis of our core values and competencies succinctly delineates advocacy as an organic component of the foundational principles.

— Dr. Terrie Price, PhD

This selection also comes from Kara Ayers, PhD, a psychologist, researcher, educator, and disability advocate who serves as Associate Director of the University of Cincinnati Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCCEDD) and Associate Professor in the University of Cincinnati Department of Pediatrics. Her work focuses on the lived experiences of people with disabilities, including parenting with a disability, disability culture, health inequities, and the ways that policies and systems affect the lives of people with disabilities. In her work at UCCEDD, Dr. Ayers also analyzes policy and works with policymakers to improve outcomes for people with disabilities.

Dr. Ayers brought this experience in disability advocacy and systems-level change to the 2023 article “Advocacy: The seventh foundational principle and core competency of rehabilitation psychology,” co-authored with Erin E. Andrews, Carrie R. Pilarski, and Dana S. Dunn. Published in *Rehabilitation Psychology*, the article argues that advocacy should be formally recognized as the seventh Foundational Principle of rehabilitation psychology.

The authors build on the six original Foundational Principles articulated through the work of Beatrice Wright and other early leaders in rehabilitation psychology. They argue that while advocacy has long been part of rehabilitation psychology, the field has often focused too heavily on how individuals adjust to disability while giving less attention to the systemic and structural environments in which disability is experienced. The authors call for a broader understanding of advocacy that addresses individual, institutional, disciplinary, and policy-level concerns.

Dr. Ayers’ contribution reflects this broader vision of advocacy. Her work bridges research, education, policy, and lived experience, emphasizing that meaningful change requires attention not only to individual circumstances but also to the systems and policies that create opportunities—or barriers—for people with disabilities. In the article, she contributed equally to the conceptualization of the seventh principle and to the development and revision of the manuscript.

The authors ultimately call on rehabilitation psychology to practice advocacy alongside the disability community, following the lead of people with lived experience. This perspective extends the Foundational Principles beyond a framework for understanding disability to a framework for action—one that asks rehabilitation psychologists to engage with institutions, policymakers, professional systems, and communities to address the barriers that affect the lives of people with disabilities.

Through her scholarship and leadership at UCCEDD, Dr. Ayers exemplifies this broader conception of rehabilitation psychology: connecting psychological knowledge with disability advocacy, policy, and community change.