"I just stay in the house so I don’t need to explain" : a qualitative investigation of persons with invisible disabilities
Hendry, Gillian and Wilson, Claire and Orr, Mairi and Scullion, Rebecca (2022) "I just stay in the house so I don’t need to explain" : a qualitative investigation of persons with invisible disabilities. Disabilities, 2 (1). pp. 145-163. ISSN 2673-7272 (https://doi.org/10.3390/disabilities2010012)
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Abstract
Research has shown that persons with disabilities continually face discrimination. More research attention has focused on individuals’ experiences of visible disability, despite evidence that there are higher numbers worldwide of people with invisible disabilities. As such, persons with invisible disabilities can feel underrepresented in disability literature. A qualitative study was conducted to address this. Twenty-five persons with an invisible disability were recruited to take part in focus groups and interviews aimed at understanding the lived experience of invisible disability on social life and within the workplace. Data was analyzed using Braun & Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis [1], identifying themes of (1) Incongruity between looking and feeling, (2) The impact of others, (3), Adaptation, (4) Talking about disability, (5) (Un)supported and (un)accepted, and (6) Discrimination/ legislation. The findings indicate that the language, attitudes and behaviour of others are important to support inclusion in the social and working lives of those with invisible disabilities. Persons without a disability should be willing to talk about disability, see the strengths of those with an invisible disability and be mindful of language used around visibility. Suggestions relating to what we can do to be better support those with an invisible disability in society are discussed.
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Item type: Article ID code: 79855 Dates: DateEvent15 March 2022Published9 March 2022AcceptedSubjects: Education > Education (General)
Social Sciences > Social Sciences (General)Department: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) > Strathclyde Institute of Education > Education Depositing user: Pure Administrator Date deposited: 10 Mar 2022 10:31 Last modified: 02 Aug 2024 01:02 Related URLs: URI: https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/79855