The network advocates for first-person accounts of disability. Disability is understood as a cultural identity, an orientation to life that brings variation, diversity and richness to the disabled and non-disabled in culture, society, and to individuals. The aim of iDSAE is to dignify disability with identity, subjectivity, and agency, rather than primarily as a biological condition. iDSAE positions disability at the intersection of society and its discourses. The network promotes work on positive cultural disability identity and acknowledgement of lived experiences, and works against stereotypes, categorizations and pedagogies that stigmatize people, including artists and students based on their diagnoses.