To successfully create inclusive environments that address the unique needs of each student, teacher candidates must adopt their students' perspectives. Radical imagination is essential for empathy, as it enables individuals to recognize diverse viewpoints (Greene, 1995). Arts-based methods provide a means for teacher candidates to practice empathy through perspective-taking. This study used qualitative multimodal content analysis to examine how teacher candidates conceptualized disability and teaching through a framework of mattering (Elliott, et al., 2004). The data consisted of comics created by teacher candidates during a methods course on inclusive education for students with complex disabilities. In this study, I ask: How do teacher candidates' expressions of student mattering in the written and visual aspects of comics produced during arts-based perspective-taking and reflective activities reveal their understanding of disability and teaching? My analysis revealed that teacher candidates had negative awareness of their students with disabilities, conveyed limited importance, and did not portray reliance. This revealed that teacher candidates often have a deficit understanding of disability and a teacher-centered approach to teaching. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]