Xian is a master’s student in Special Education, specializing in Early Childhood Intervention, at The University of Texas at Austin. She earned her Ph.D. in Philosophy from Nankai University in China and has a long-standing interest in philosophical questions concerning children and childhood. Her interest in the realities of special education has led her to explore more systematically how social structures and institutions shape special education. She is particularly interested in how the needs of individuals with disabilities, and their families are addressed within different social institutions and cultural contexts, as well as the barriers they encounter. Drawing on her own cultural background, she is especially interested in understanding the stigma associated with disability and special education that many East Asian families may encounter.