On the Origins of Negative Attitudes Towards People With Disabilities

The literature review classifies reported sources of negative attitudes toward the disabled into 13 psychodynamic and sociological categories and stresses the difficulty of quickly changing such negative attitudes

Surveying Persons with Disabilities: A Source Guide (Version 1)

As a collaborator with the Cornell Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Demographics and Statistics, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. has been working on a project that identifies the strengths and limitations in existing disability data collection in both content and data collection methodology. The intended outcomes of this project include expanding and synthesizing knowledge of best practices and the extent existing data use those practices, informing the development of data enhancement options, and contributing to a more informed use of existing data. In an effort to provide the public with an up-to-date and easily accessible source of research on the methodological issues associated with surveying persons with disabilities, MPR has prepared a Source Guide of material related to this topic. The Source Guide contains 150 abstracts, summaries, and references, followed by a Subject Index, which cross references the sources from the Reference List under various subjects. The Source Guide is viewed as a “living document,” and will be periodically updated

The Use of Horticulture Therapy Techniques with Four Comprehensive Development Classroom Students in Four High School Horticulture Classes

The purpose of this study was to explore people-plant interactions and discover the affects of using horticulture therapy techniques with four comprehensive development classroom (CDC) students in four high school horticulture classes. The central research question addressed during the study was, “How do horticulture therapy techniques affect cognitive abilities, emotional behaviors, and social behaviors of CDC students in high school horticulture classes?” The researcher used a total of three different instruments in order to measure various capabilities of each child. These three quantitative instruments utilized during the study consisted of a General Horticulture Knowledge Test, an Emotions Face Test, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The General Horticulture Knowledge Test and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were each administered to the four student participants a total of three times. The researcher administered these tests before beginning the initial study in February, again in March, and at the conclusion of the study in May. The Emotions Face test was administered before and after horticulture activities were completed. Each of the tests was read aloud by the researcher for better understanding by the participants. Observations also played a key role in this study. Interviews were conducted orally with the two CDC teachers and the four CDC students. The CDC teachers were interviewed twice, once before the study started and once at the conclusion of the study. The four students were interviewed only once, this being at the conclusion of the study. Six teacher aides, who work with the students throughout the day, were also involved in the study. They completed written questionnaires containing the same questions as the CDC teachers were asked in their interviews. This study revealed that the participants had increased levels of self-esteem, positive changes in emotional behaviors, and gains in cognitive behaviors during the four month case study. The tests results combined with interviews and observations of the four student participants, two CDC teachers, and six teacher aides supported the idea that horticulture therapy techniques are beneficial to CDC students enrolled in high school horticulture classes

Fashioning a Feeble Mind: Cognitive Disability in American Fiction, 1830-1940

Between 1830 and 1940, American fiction is populated by an increasing number of cognitively disabled characters. I explore the relationships between these cognitively disabled characters and the rapidly changing scientific and political environments in which they were created. Drawing on a variety of regionally specific primary sources, I analyze the influences of medical and social conceptions of cognitive disability on works of American fiction containing characters which fit historical labels for cognitive disability such as The Deerslayer, “Life in the Iron Mills,” the short stories of Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, The Sound and the Fury, and Of Mice and Men. Scholarship on these works has neglected historical analysis of their intellectually disabled characters, flattening them into common and unchanging literary tropes. I argue that the way the authors represent these characters is not only dynamic but is also deeply influenced by changing American disability culture

The Museum as an Inclusive Community: A Blueprint for Moving Forward

The focus of this study is museum accessibility for patrons with disabilities. The history of museums and their evolution into institutions that strive to create an inclusive community means that many aspects of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as well as the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 are applicable. Developing a tool for assessing museum compliance with the law was key to gathering data to use for improving compliance with the law. Using this data and comparing current compliance in four museums to three major legal cases against museums showed common areas for improvement in accessibility in all facilities involved in this study. Technical solutions for creating an inclusive museum are pulled from legal settlements as well as accessibility websites and presented here

Overcoming barriers and increasing independence: service robots for elderly and disabled people

This paper discusses the potential for service robots to overcome barriers and increase independence of elderly and disabled people. It includes a brief overview of the existing uses of service robots by disabled and elderly people and advances in technology which will make new uses possible and provides suggestions for some of these new applications. The paper also considers the design and other conditions to be met for user acceptance. It also discusses the complementarity of assistive service robots and personal assistance and considers the types of applications and users for which service robots are and are not suitable

Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal Volume 12 Issue 1

The newest issue of RDSJ is out!! Learn more about the latest in #Disability Rights, Teachable Moments, Symbiotic Collaboration, Education, Inequality, Film and more

Is euthanasia of the infant born at 22⁺⁰-23⁺⁶ weeks’ gestation (without congenital anomalies) morally permissible within the United Kingdom?

The contemporary moral philosopher Peter Singer (2017; Singer and Kuhse, 2002) has addressed the ethics surrounding medical infanticide within developed countries. Singer argues that infanticide is equivalent to preventing a person from existing, as opposed to killing a person. This claim is built on a simple dictum: that the infant is not a person, therefore her life does not bear the same moral value as that of the average older child or adult. Singer conjoins this thesis with other factors that he feels negate an infant’s entitlement to life to argue that her euthanasia is ethically permissible under certain conditions; such conditions include being in a state of suffering, disabled, and/or unwanted by parents. As neonates born at 22⁺⁰-23⁺⁶ weeks’ gestation suffer via commonplace practices within the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and are likely to bear morbidities as an outcome of their extreme prematurity, Singer’s thesis is applicable to this group. By Section One of this paper I outline Singer’s philosophies concerning the treatment of these infants.Within Section Two I address Singer’s arguments, to which I raise a set of criticisms and defend the moral worth of EPIs. I reject Singer’s definition of personhood on the premise that it is radically chauvinistic and denigrates the existence of a vast number of human beings who have the potential to become valuable members of both their families and society. Further, society’s dehumanisation of the infant and acceptance of infanticide for the sake of parental convenience could have dire consequences for the overall well-being of parents who adopt this ideology, their children, and disabled members of society. I agree that medical infanticide is acceptable in instances where an infant is in constant physical pain as an outcome of an ongoing medical condition, but as the EPI without congenital anomalies is not subject to this, this concept does not apply to her.I believe that a good criterion for personhood should not be based on a list of psychological properties. By Section Three of this paper I put forward an alternative criterion based on an individual’s capacity to bestow goodness on the world, as I feel that there should be an inverse relationship between this capacity and worthiness of moral consideration. This criterion ascribes person status to a much wider group than Singer’s (including those neonates born on the cusp of legal viability), and accordingly an entitlement to legal protection

Expectations and Experiences of Fathers Who Have Parented Children With and Without Intellectual Disabilities

The parenting experience is as diverse as the children parented. Each child has diverse personality traits requiring flexibility and specificity in parenting strategy. This need for flexibility and specificity is more complex when one or more children within a family has an intellectual disability. Although research in this area is abundant, investigators have historically focused on mothers\u27 attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to represent the entire family (Essex, Seltzer, & Krauss, 2001; Greenberg, 2002) rather than focusing on fathers and their caregiving relationships with their children in need of malleable but consistent parenting. Using a qualitative descriptive design, this qualitative study explored expectations and subsequent experiences of men who have fathered children with and without intellectual disabilities. The investigator collected data through face-to-face semistructured interviews with 8 fathers in Tennessee. During these interviews fathers discussed each of their children, specifically their expectations of and experiences with their children prior to birth, reactions to the differences among their children, getting through the day, and their responsibilities in teaching each child. NVivo 9.0 data management software was used. Four main themes were inductively derived from the data: Learning to Dance in the Rain, Just Do What Needs Doing, The Power of Patience, and Nurturing Uniqueness. These themes contribute to nursing knowledge by delineating the perspectives of men as they father children of differing intelligences. The results from this study suggest strategies for educators and practicing healthcare professionals working with fathers in similar situations to increase mindfulness of this all-important relationship between fathers and their children with differing intellectual capacities; the investigator also proposes areas of continued research in this field

Embodying virtue in employment: Exploring the employment experiences of people with disabilities

Research on the employment experiences of people with disabilities (PWD), on a global level, is limited. While South Africa has a well-defined legislative framework that has been determined in consultation with disabled people's organisations, compliance with legislation appears to have failed to ensure that employment targets are met, or rather, it has overlooked the underemployment of PWD. As a response to the challenges, this study explored the employment experiences of PWD. A qualitative, explorative, multiple case study approach was employed. Twelve participants were selected using a purposive technique. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data and provided insight into how PWD viewed their world. The interviews were supplemented through document analyses, and various modes of observation provided additional insight into each of the cases. The process of analysing the interview data followed an inductive approach during which three broad themes were identified. Factors influencing Employment elaborated on the participants' pre-employment experiences of gaining access to employment, which were shown to be impacted by various environmental barriers. Early Experiences of Inclusion at the Workplace established that induction and orientation processes were opportunities for educating co-workers about disability. However, the disclosure of disability did not guarantee improved employment experiences for the research participants. Feeling part of a team promoted early experiences of acceptance. Accommodation in the Workplace determined that PWD's accommodation requests were often evaluated and considered in terms of the costs to employers, and primarily focused on technology to improve their productivity. The need for personal assistance for the PWD in the study was found to be unavoidable. A conceptual model is presented as an alternative framework. It offers insight into how to improve disabled individuals' employment experiences to organisations and their management, and people with disabilities themselves. The model suggests that organisations operating from within a virtue framework can facilitate equal opportunities for employees. Organisations are to be more competitive, innovative and creative, and improve their sustainability. The experiences of PWD could be improved through establishing working communities within organisations as these distribute decisionmaking. The climate for organisational inclusion could also be improved by the working community's ability to redefine work and equip PWD appropriately, thereby promoting organisational citizenship, with benefits to both the organisation and individual