The situated nature of disability

Abstract

In this chapter, I present disability as a relational concept, rather than a trans-situational characteristic that an individual can have. The argument is grounded in and illustrated by the author's research on experiences of disability. Three distinct research projects are drawn on: (1) research with injured workers about their experiences, (2) research about the experiences of women who survived a stroke before age 50, and (3) research about the work experiences of academics who have multiple sclerosis (MS). All of this work considers the social and environmental context. That is, environments may be more or less accessible, but their accessibility is always a factor determined by the individuals who designed the environment, and who design environments based on who they envision will use them. The chapter also focuses on the fact that very few people in each group of research participants identified as disabled. Notably, participants often experienced being disabled by others because of the reactions of others to either their visible impairments or their apparent refusal to engage in expected activities. Accordingly, they were often unable to engage in desired occupations (broadly conceived), and this, rather than bodily limitations, is what was experienced as disabling.