Statutory wheelchair provision in England and Wales has been equipment led since its inception in 1990. However, users are reported to be dissatisfied with the service and a reorganisation of provision is underway that purports, in accordance with recent Government advice (DOH, 2012), to make the wheelchair user central to the supply process. However, little is known about wheelchair users perspectives of the equipment that they use to inform this process.

Acquired hearing impairment affects one in six people in the United Kingdom. The process of becoming hearing impaired and seeking help is different for each individual and consequently very little is known about their personal experience of this journey. The aim of this thesis was to explore the essence of the experience of acquiring hearing impairment from the individual’s perspective, in order to better understand and meet the needs of clients seeking aural rehabilitation. Data was generated in the Phenomenological tradition using unstructured interviews and analysed using a constant comparison method drawn from Grounded Theory. Participants were recruited from the UK and the USA. Individual participant’s experience ranged from those who had not yet approached services, to those who had worn hearing aid/s for several years. Data is comprised of 24 recorded interviews, reflective journals, field notes and memos. Each interview, journal, field note and memo was coded and analysed to identify a core category. The results produced categories that identified stages the individual experiences when acquiring hearing impairment, and a core category, “Preserving the social identity” emerged. Most of the data was generated from interviews and focus groups but additionally a comprehensive audiological assessment was carried out with ten of the participants in order to compare their perception of their hearing before and after assessment. The assessment included taking a detailed medical and social history, performing otoscopy, pure tone audiometry, tympanometry, speech testing and the random gap detection test. This thesis adds to the body of knowledge about the personal experience of acquiring hearing impairment within the framework of Social Identity Theory. It proposes a theory of how individuals experience and adapt to changes in their social identity, and proposes that rehabilitation needs to be available at a much earlier stage than hearing aid fitting. It must also be multifaceted and multidisciplinary in order to meet the needs of the individual and their significant others at various stages in their journey. Finally it identifies an unmet need within Audiology provision and suggestions are made for service development and further areas of research.

Loss of limb through amputation presents a significant, life changing, circumstance for individuals. The prosthetist as the gate keeper to the health-care system and the facilitator of rehabilitation is essential to positive adjustment post-amputation. As yet, however, commonalities and differences in the understandings of each of these parties of the experience of limb loss, prosthesis use and rehabilitation remain unexamined. This comparison provides the focus for this study. Fifteen individuals post amputation and 13 prosthetists were interviewed on their perceptions of limb loss and prosthesis use. Semi structured interviews were conducted, face to face, via telephone or via email. Data were audio-recorded and transcribed as necessary and thereafter analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) in order to gain an understanding of the subjective experiences of individuals with limb loss and of prosthetists of the post-amputation process. Analysis of the data led to identification of four key themes, namely Personal Identity, Social Identity, The Prosthesis and Communication. These themes were relevant for both groups. The meanings that they held for the two groups, however, differed in relation to key elements of the post-amputation experience. Both groups have a shared interest in the process of prosthetic limb fitting and rehabilitation and yet come from very differing perspectives. The fitting and use of a prosthetic device is not a simple, technical process but rather involves a combination of psychological, social and practical components all of which must be recognized in the rehabilitation process. The differing expectations and understandings held by both groups become especially evident in interactions between individuals with limb loss and prosthetists. Communications between members of these groups can provide a central point for addressing differences in their understandings of living with limb loss and might provide a focus for further developments in research and practice.

Cette thèse explore l’émergence d’un problème public en France : l’assistance sexuelle aux personnes en situation de handicap. À partir d’un matériau composé d’entretiens avec des partisans et des opposants à l’assistance sexuelle, d’observations lors de formations ou de colloque sur l’assistance sexuelle, et d’un corpus composé d’archives, de revues, d’ouvrages spécialisés, de littérature grise, il s’agit d’analyser la genèse et le déploiement de cette nouvelle activité. A la lumière de la sociologie de la sexualité, du handicap, des problèmes publics et des professions, ce travail montre que loin d’être taboue, la question "handicap et sexualité" a fait l’objet de nombreux discours qui conditionnent la façon dont est posé aujourd’hui le problème public "assistance sexuelle".L’analyse permet de revenir sur l'invention d'un problème public français en rapport avec les questions de sexualité., après des années d’échec. Ce type de questionnements n’est possible que par un travail de construction de la légitimité de l’action. Cette thèse contribue ainsi à la compréhension du sujet politique "handicap" et "sexualité", mais aussi, plus largement, à une sociologie du lien entre "sexualité" et "travail". / This doctoral thesis scrutinizes the emergence of a societal problem in France, namely the consideration given to the issue of sexual assistance to persons with disabilities. The purpose is in this case and based on an aggregate of interviews of supporters and opponents, of observations during training sessions or colloquium on sexuality, and on a corpus of archives, journals, specialized works, gray literature – to analyze the genesis and the deployment of this new approach. With the help of insights found in the sociology of sexuality and disability, public service professions, this work shows that far from being taboo, the issue of handicap and sexuality has been the subject of numerous speeches shaping the way to consider the broad societal issue of sexual assistance. This analysis makes it is possible to succed today in France - after failing for years – in conducting a public debate around the issues of sexuality and handicap. Yet, this type of questioning is only possible through a constructing work around the legitimacy of the action. This thesis contributes not only to the understanding of the political subject “handicap” and “sexuality”, but also, more broadly, to the establishing of a sociology of the link between “sexuality” and “work”.

Research suggests that individuals with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and learning disabilities (LD) experience difficulties in developing meaningful intimate relationships, and mainstream sex education is not adapted to meet their needs. However, ASD and LD frequently co-occur (ASD-LD), and findings suggest this population have unique needs, compared to those with ASD and LD. There is a paucity of research on how sex education should be adapted for individuals with ASD-LD. This study aimed to explore the views of 21 health and social care professionals, experienced in delivering sex education for adults with ASD-LD, on which characteristics of adults with ASD-LD should be considered when providing sex education, and what adaptations to sex education are thus required. To seek whether a group consensus between professionals could be gained, an electronic, three round, Delphi method was used. Findings showed that professionals agreed on the unique characteristics of adults with ASD-LD, and the various adaptations to sex education required, which differed for adults with ASD and LD. The most important characteristics and adaptations primarily related to; communication needs, cognitive and executive functions, social impairments, and sensory needs. The clinical and research implications of the findings are presented.

This thesis explores through practice how the process of devising a theatrical performance might affect the constitution of dis/ability identity, centrally engaging with the theories of postmodern feminist, Judith Butler. Initially, the study concentrates on the current trends in disability theory and presents a rationale for the comparative analysis of feminism(s) with disability theory and the disability movement. It pays particular attention to postmodern feminism(s)’ critique of the exclusionary nature of oppositional identity politics. It assesses the opportunities for theorising identity formation opened up by the critical thinking of Butler and the contribution this might make to emerging disability theory. Two types of theatrical intervention are discussed as centrally informing the practical element of this thesis: the first, contemporary disability performance and its creative engagement with access and the second, previous attempts to apply Butler’s provocations to theatrical practice. This thesis investigates how the integration of disability theory and Butlerian theory was achieved through three practical devised performance projects with community groups of disabled participants. The first, BluYesBlu, was a pilot project undertaken with a group of learning disabled devisers/performers. Methodological and ethical issues arising from the practice are considered. The subsequent projects were This is My Life, again with learning disabled participants, and Natural Woman?, with a group of physically disabled collaborators. All three projects incorporated the collection of audience responses and their analysis. This thesis discusses how dis/ability identity was reformulated as an effect of production and reception. As the challenges, issues and the critical thinking that emerged from each project were very dissimilar, this thesis argues that utilising Butler provides a route through ‘difficulty’ to a more open, flexible and inclusive formulation of dis/ability identity than was previously available. Furthermore, the embodying of Butler’s theories in this critical practice validates her theories as politically and ethically effective.

Within the last few years, disabled people have become the target of government austerity measures through drastic cuts to welfare justified through the portrayal of benefit claimants as inactive, problem citizens who are wilfully unemployed. For all that is wrong with these cuts, they are one of many aspects of exclusion that disabled people face. Attitudes towards disability are deteriorating (Scope, 2011) and disabled people are devalued and negatively positioned in a myriad of ways, meaning that an understanding of the perceptions and positioning of disability and the power of disabling practices is critical. This thesis will examine how Bourdieu’s theoretical repertoire may be applied to the area of Disability Studies in order to discern how society produces oppressive and exclusionary systems of classification which structures the social position and perceptions of disability. The composite nature of disability and multiple forms of exclusion and inequality associated with it benefits from a multipronged approach which acknowledges personal, embodied and psychological aspects of disability alongside socio-political and cultural conceptualisations. Bourdieu’s approach is one in which the micro and macro aspects of social life are brought together through their meso interplay and provides a thorough analysis of the many aspects of disability.

This thesis is an analysis of the under-researched subject of disability in Trinidad and Tobago and presents an understanding of the concepts and contestations of disability as it is lived and experienced by disabled people in T&T. In it disability is explored in the context of identity construction, power relations and self-empowerment, and takes into account the ways in which that identity is shaped by historical events, cultural relations, social interactions and political structures. It identifies the relationships between disability and local social issues through an analysis of the everyday cultural paradigms of religion, kinship, beliefs, rituals, customs and values of the people, and gives particular attention to discrimination within the context of heterogeneity, and the effects that has on disabled people’s contribution to society. The possibilities and limits of claiming a disability identity, and the role of state policy in framing understandings of disability are also explored, as are some of the impacts of those policies on the lives of disabled people. The research took a broadly qualitative approach, drawing on narrative, semi-structured and formal interviews, focus groups, observations and documentary analysis. The research findings and analysis add to the existing disability scholarship by exploring the cultural impositions and social structures that impact on disability experiences in a country of the Global South, and pinpoint some of the limitations present in hegemonic Western discourse when applied in these settings. It highlights the importance of the legacies of colonialism and challenges assumptions that systems of Western modernisation and development can be easily transferred to countries of the South without considering whether or not they are socially or culturally appropriate. The data results have illustrated that disability in T&T is a social construct which diverges in important ways from the dominant Westernised theorisations of disability and in particular, identifies the significance of religion and spirituality in shaping models of reality and value systems, which must be taken into account more fully in disability scholarship, activism and policy in the country.

Youth with disabilities are amongst the poorest and most marginalised of young people worldwide. Approximately 80 per cent of disabled young people live in countries of the Global South. Despite a growing body of research problematising youth transitions in situations of poverty and increasing interest in disability issues beyond the Global North, little is known about how youth with disabilities in the Global South make their transitions to adulthood. This thesis addresses this gap by reporting on a qualitative study on the transitions to adulthood of young people with different impairments living primarily in Accra, Ghana. Using innovative, participatory methods, it explores young people s individual narratives within the areas of education, employment, and social and community life, and the ways in which these shape their life trajectories. The study shows that the transitions to adulthood of youth with disabilities in Accra are substantially influenced by disability-related factors and processes that are socio-spatially embedded and intricately intertwined. Disabling social and physical environments restrict disabled young people s participation in education, employment, and social and community life, which increases their vulnerability to marginalisation and exclusion in society. As a consequence, their transitions to adulthood are even more complex, protracted, and uncertain than for their non-disabled peers. Youth with disabilities, however, use a variety of coping strategies to navigate the challenges they face associated with school, work, and social life in their attempts to achieve adulthood. Foregrounding the voices of young people with differing categories of social difference challenges the hitherto existing homogenisation of the lives of youth with disabilities in the Global South highlighting their agency and capabilities as well as the complex ways in which they negotiate transitions during the life-course.

The last decade has witnessed a growing trend toward developing new ways in which human beings may benefit from the creative and non-exploitative use of animals. These animals, generally having some special or unique quality and often referred to as companion animals or pets, have demonstrated a therapeutical value for many persons far beyond the parameters of simple recreation.