Abstract
The paper relates that social study of disability is still comparatively underrepresented in both critical studies and activist cycles (Garland Thompson, "Disability Studies" 16; Chouinard 269; Shakespeare, 25). The paper explains that traditionally in the realm of more applied fields (medicine, law, social work), disability is entering the broader scholarly areas like philosophy, sociology, religion etc. (Garland Thompson, "Integrating Disability" 1). The paper asserts that one way of understanding and approaching disability in this more theoretical work is by "framing disability as a cultural reading of the body that has political and social consequences" (Garland Thompson, "Disability Studies" 17).

From the Paper
"Social study of disability is still comparatively underrepresented in both critical studies and activist cycles (Garland Thompson, "Disability Studies" 16; Chouinard 269; Shakespeare, 25). Traditionally in the realm of more applied fields (medicine, law, social work), disability is entering the broader scholarly areas like philosophy, sociology, religion etc. (Garland Thompson, "Integrating Disability" 1). One ways of understanding and approaching disability in this more theoretical work is by "framing disability as a cultural reading of the body that has political and social consequences" (Garland Thompson, "Disability Studies"..."

Tags:feminism, disability studies, gender

Abstract
The writer relates that he feels that studying disability is enriching and transformative and he hopes that he emerges from this experience with not only a greater knowledge of disability and disability issues, but also with more accurate and effective conceptual models by which he can more critically understand the world in which he lives and those with whom he shares it. The writer hopes that this experience will allow him to understand access and accommodation in new ways, so that it will become second nature for him to think critically and interrogate "Ableist" discourse wherever it occurs, no matter how subtly it may be represented.

From the Paper
"In reflecting upon what it means to be in a disability studies course, and the benefit to be derived in this regard, the truism - "Out of sight, out of mind" - came to me. There is a very famous book in African American literature - Ellison's "Invisible Man" - in which the experience of African Americans is likened to being an "invisible" population in American discourse. In much the same way, I believe that while disability is a phenomenon that is central to the experience of a significant portion of..."

Tags:disability, studies, reflection

Abstract
This paper discusses the transitions that individuals often go through as they leave one role and assume another role. In particular, the paper focuses on role transition and disability management after a disability.

From the Paper
"Blake E Ashforth has argued that as individuals exit one role and enter into another they experience a number of changes that interact with an individual's global self-identity. Many role transitions are spurred or accompanied by psychological motives whereas others are seen by Ashforth as necessitated by changing life circumstances. The subject is of significance to individuals working in the field of disability management. Laura Trupin Douglas Sebesta and Edward Yelin noted that many disabled individuals in the workforce..."

Tags:disability management, roles, workplace

Abstract
This paper describes the writer's personal experience of having to undergo disability assessment during his university exams. The writer describes his reaction to learning that he, along with several other students who were tested around the same time, had a learning disability. The paper explains how this finding puzzled the writer and why he still does not believe that he has a learning disability.

From the Paper
"In the 2004 exam period at the University of Toronto one of my instructors, upon noticing that I seemed to take longer than the scheduled time to complete my exams, recommended that I go to the university's Accessibility Services for an assessment. After a lengthy test, I was informed that I have a learning disability. Some 20 students whom I know were also assessed around this time, and the vast majority - approximately 90 percent - were similarly assessed as possessing a learning disability. From a personal perspective, I must admit this finding puzzled me for I still do not believe that I have a learning disability."

Tags:disability, race, gender

Abstract
This paper explores how the The Disability Service Center, at the University of California of Irvine provides a service necessary for the University to comply with the federal American With Disabilities Act. The paper further states, however, that it is plagued with inadequate testing facilities and space, poor utilization of technology for internal systems, and an internal and external misunderstanding of the necessity for their services and why those services are critical to the student with a disability. The paper concludes by stating that it is little known and underutilized as a service center for university employees with disabilities.

From the Paper
" It would appear that while The Disability Service Center, DSC, which serves 400 students, at the University of California of Irvine provides a service necessary for the University to comply with the federal American With Disabilities Act, it is plagued with inadequate testing facilities and space, poor utilization of technology for internal systems, and an internal and external misunderstanding of the necessity for their services and why those services are critical to the student with a disability. It is also little known and underutilized as a service center for university..."

Tags:computer technology, web based info, disability serv

Abstract
The paper explores the intersection of disability and sexuality, two conceptualizations of identity. The paper argues that people with disabilities are frequently faced with a double-bind with regard to issues of sexuality, for social biases that attempt to define their experiences and identities in a restricted manner due to the enduring medical model of disability are reinforced by popular anxieties and issues with respect to sexuality.

From the Paper
"The body is, in our society, a site of cultural and political conflict. This conflict is particularly clear in regard to two conceptualizations of human identity: disability and sexuality. This paper will, with reference to several critical works, explore the intersection of these two conceptualizations of identity. The thesis will be argued that people with disabilities are frequently faced with a double-bind with regard to issues of sexuality, for social biases that attempt to define their experiences and identities in a restricted manner due to the enduring medical model of..."

Tags:sex, disability, gender

Abstract
The paper begins by emphasizing that definitions are vitally important in creating social meaning. The paper explains that for a long time, the medical model of disability prevailed, and this model was based on particular definitions of disability and impairment. The paper provides an example: the World Health Organization's International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps (ICIDH) defined impairment as any loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological or anatomical structure or function.

From the Paper
"In this essay I will analyze policy gaps in the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), and the related issue of the role of social workers such as myself in filling these gaps. Before beginning, it is necessary to be clear about definitions. This is because, as Oliver explains, definitions are vitally important in creating..."

Tags:disability, odsp, neoliberalism

Abstract
The writer discusses the phrase "Disability is all in our minds". The writer relates; "My grandmother used to say this - or words to that effect - often when my mother would take me to visit her in her apartment and, later, at the nursing home. Of course, at the time I never thought much of what she meant, and tended to dismiss it as children dismiss many of the words of the adults. My grandmother's disability was one of mobility, as a result of a fall and damage to her hip and leg that seemed to be aggravated more than remedied by successive operations. I recall being surprised when my grandmother decided to end the series of operations at the point when she was still using a walker to get around her apartment."

From the Paper
"Disability is all in our minds. My grandmother used to say this - or words to that effect - often when my mother would take me to visit her in her apartment and, later, at the nursing home. Of course, at the time I never thought much of what she meant, and tended to dismiss it as children dismiss many of the words of the adults. My grandmother's disability was one of mobility, as a result of a fall and damage to her hip and leg that seemed to be aggravated more than remedied by successive operations. I recall being surprised when my grandmother..."

Tags:disability, mobility, story

Abstract
This paper explores the cognitive "reality" of the representation of disability in mass culture. The paper argues that the representation of disability has "reality" in much the same way as racist representations of visible minorities have reality in a mediated culture, with both being social constructions that validate and support systemic discrimination.

From the Paper
"Given the fundamental insight of the social model of disability - that the concept "disability" refers not to a physiological state so much as to a social construction - we can understand how disability exists in our contemporary mediated culture in terms of its representation. This essay will explore the cognitive "reality" of the representation of disability in mass culture. It will be argued that the representation of disability has "reality" in much the same way as racist representations of visible..."

Tags:disability, deviance, culture

Abstract
The paper addresses three different questions. The first question deals with the role of experience analysis. The second question deals with the socio-material construction of disabled bodies and the final question deals with linking race, gender and disability into a single struggle.

From the Paper
"The role of experience analysis in both disability studies and in feminism has become a very important question. It raises questions about how the experiences of marginalized people can be expressed. It also raises a number of questions about objectivity and subjectivity. One of the most important experience analysis tools in recent years has been narrative. In "Narrative and its Potential Contribution to Disability Studies" Brett Smith and Andrew C. Sparkes state, "We organise our experiences into narratives and assign meaning to them through storytelling". Narratives thereby help..."

Tags:gender, disability, discrimination