Open Access“We don’t have a box”: Understanding Hidden Disability Identity Utilizing Narrative Research Methodology
Author(s) -
Aimee Burke Valeras
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
disability studies quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2159-8371
pISSN - 1041-5718
DOI - 10.18061/dsq.v30i3/4.1267
Subject(s) - narrative , identity (music) , psychology , anonymity , physical disability , social model of disability , learning disability , disability studies , narrative inquiry , developmental psychology , gender studies , sociology , aesthetics , psychiatry , computer science , philosophy , linguistics , computer security
A "hidden disability," one unapparent to outside observers, defies the outward social construction of disability. A narrative research approach is used to understand the process of personal identification (or lack thereof) with being "disabled." Self-narratives were elicited from three men and three women, ranging in age from 21 to 53 years who have had a hidden physical disability since before age thirteen. The conditions represented are: Juvenile Diabetes, Asthma, Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, Epilepsy, Muscular Dystrophy, and Celiac Disease. While persons with hidden disabilities are afforded a sense of anonymity, they must contend with different challenges, including learning strategic self-disclosure and impression management; when to disclose and make disability visible and when to "pass" and give society the impression of "able-bodiedness." The choice, to be or not to be disabled, has important implications for the way we conceptualize disability, and the concept of identity as a whole.