This qualitative study examines the experiences of patients who have undergone renal transplant surgery. Interviews were conducted with six patient informants who received renal transplants one to six months prior to the study. Participants’ narratives offered insight into: the variability of transplant preparation, hopes, experiences, and perspectives of recovery, meanings of recovery, significance of social and economic supports in recovery, and the role of professional staff in providing support and resources during the transplant journey. Their stories are explored in relation to literature on psychosocial aspects of renal transplant and through a critical disability studies lens. The nuances of the social work role in relation to patients’ pre- and post-operative renal transplant journey was explored in depth. Based on the findings and relevant literature, recommendations and suggestions are made on how to expand the social work role in the pre- and post-transplant clinic at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

This study focused on nine disabled college students' interpersonal interactions with their campus community. Study participants discussed the meaning they took from their interpersonal interactions. Critical disability studies theory and Disability Justice Principles provided a conceptual framework for this study's design. Using narrative inquiry methodology, this study explored the following research questions: (1) How do disabled college students describe their interpersonal interactions with those in their campus community (e.g., staff, faculty members, peers)? (2) What meaning do disabled college students ascribe to their interactions with those in their campus community? (3) How do disabled college students describe their participation in, if any, student organizations at their institutions? Inductive analysis from 18 semi-structured interviews revealed five themes: lower(ed) expectations for support and connection, experiencing oppression, coping with oppression, experiencing interdependent friendships, and in-group friendships. Findings affirm the insufficiency of compliance with disability laws, disabled college students' resiliency in response to ableism, and the need for administrators to foster belonging for disabled college students. Study implications emphasize the urgent need for higher education administrators to foster a sense of belonging among disabled college students with multiple marginalized identities as well as disrupt systems of oppression within higher education institutions. / Doctor of Philosophy / Enrollment of disabled students in higher education continues to rise, but postsecondary administrators still overlook the need for full inclusion of this population in all aspects of college life. Disabled college students have a legal right under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to request accommodations and talk with campus disability service providers about their accommodation needs. It is important for college administrators to foster the social inclusion of disabled students at their institutions. The purpose of this study was to learn about the interpersonal experiences of disabled college students with those in their campus communities. I used a narrative methodology to consider the following research questions: (1) How do disabled college students describe their interpersonal interactions with those in their campus community (e.g., staff, faculty members, peers)? (2) What meaning do disabled college students ascribe to their interactions with those in their campus community? (3) How do disabled college students describe their participation in, if any, student organizations at their institutions? After interviewing study participants, I learned they lowered their expectations for support and connection and experienced oppression. In response, participants found ways to cope with oppression, especially by forming mutual friendships with campus peers. These coping strategies confirmed the urgent need for higher education administrators to foster a sense of belonging among the disabled students on their college campuses.

The purpose of this thesis was to explore socially constructed discursive barriers to physical activity for people with physical disabilities. This research was informed by a critical disability studies framework. Eight interviews were conducted, split between end-users and stakeholders. The end-user article discusses their perspectives with regard to their own PA participation, their use of PA resources, and their views of how disability is constructed. The stakeholder article deals with their views with regard to Canada’s progress in creating inclusive PA guidelines, the research process as it effects people with physical disabilities, and how disability is constructed. The results showed awareness among both groups of the social model of disability, but that the medical model is still firmly rooted. Work is needed to create inclusive promotional materials and disseminate them effectively. An effective advocacy and lobbying effort was suggested as one avenue towards a possible solution to this issue.

The purpose of this thesis was to explore socially constructed discursive barriers to physical activity for people with physical disabilities. This research was informed by a critical disability studies framework. Eight interviews were conducted, split between end-users and stakeholders. The end-user article discusses their perspectives with regard to their own PA participation, their use of PA resources, and their views of how disability is constructed. The stakeholder article deals with their views with regard to Canada’s progress in creating inclusive PA guidelines, the research process as it effects people with physical disabilities, and how disability is constructed. The results showed awareness among both groups of the social model of disability, but that the medical model is still firmly rooted. Work is needed to create inclusive promotional materials and disseminate them effectively. An effective advocacy and lobbying effort was suggested as one avenue towards a possible solution to this issue.

The purpose of this thesis was to explore socially constructed discursive barriers to physical activity for people with physical disabilities. This research was informed by a critical disability studies framework. Eight interviews were conducted, split between end-users and stakeholders. The end-user article discusses their perspectives with regard to their own PA participation, their use of PA resources, and their views of how disability is constructed. The stakeholder article deals with their views with regard to Canada’s progress in creating inclusive PA guidelines, the research process as it effects people with physical disabilities, and how disability is constructed. The results showed awareness among both groups of the social model of disability, but that the medical model is still firmly rooted. Work is needed to create inclusive promotional materials and disseminate them effectively. An effective advocacy and lobbying effort was suggested as one avenue towards a possible solution to this issue.

For approximately the last 45 years, researchers have examined a standardized pathway for an individual’s life course, involving leaving the parents’ home, building a stable career, getting married, having children, followed by retirement and death. Contrary to what was been previously discovered, the life course is no longer considered as linear as it was once thought to be. This statement has been further investigated and proven more specifically among families of children with special needs. This Master’s thesis reviews the perspective of 11 (eleven) fathers of children with cerebral palsy located in Canada and in the United States. Fathers voluntarily participated in a qualitative 90-minute qualitative structured interview, followed by the construction of a historical timeline of key events pertaining to their journey to becoming a father. Qualitative analyses consisted of a content analysis to investigate how fatherhood is constructed and the experiences of being a father to a child with cerebral palsy consist of. In essence, becoming a father to a child with cerebral palsy is an extremely emotional experience as complex and continuous feelings emerge in those transitioning into fatherhood.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University / BACKGROUNDS: Adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) face important health disparities, and are underrepresented in research. There is a particular lack of research from the perspective of members of this population. However, adults with ID are living longer than ever before, and, after a long history of institutionalization, are aging in the community. Aging adults with ID face important support gaps and challenges as pioneers in aging in the community. Aging women with ID are further marginalized by gender and age. This qualitative, participatory study explores lived experiences of aging and elderly women with intellectual disabilities. METHODS: In order to maximize voice for participants with ID, this study used qualitative, participatory methods including individual interviewing and Photo Voice, a participatory technique where participants are given cameras and become co-researchers on the project as they document their worlds. RESULTS: Important themes emerged including: The experience of aging with ID is a gendered phenomenon, anticipation of increased independence and community participation as a result of aging, community inclusion and the importance of relationships and belonging. Discussion: While further research is needed to quantify the experiences described by participants, the importance of community inclusion and relationships suggests that policy level supports for aging in place and individualized planning with be important for this generation of adults with ID. This thesis concludes with recommendations as to how adults with ID can best be supported in achieving healthy aging from a systems perspective.

The purpose of this study is to examine how high school students labeled with autism make meaning of their label and how, for them, the label functions in their day-to-day lives. Being diagnosed with autism can have many implications for an individual and his or her family and how a label is understood is very much connected to the impact that it has. A label can be instrumental in accessing resources and supports that enable a person to thrive, but it can also conjure stereotypes which may categorize a person or limit them in particular ways. Using critical theory and phenomenological analysis, short semi-structured interviews were conducted with high school aged participants prior to their attending a full day workshop. The workshop included half-day art creation and a half-day focus group which sought to understand participants’ experiences through their descriptions of their art and through collaborative discussion about their experience living labeled. The findings suggest that while their experiences are as diverse as the individuals who have them, there are similarities in how the label functions which may be more universal. Participants in this study discussed how the label of autism assigns positive or (more often) negative value to a person; how their label linked them with certain resources (and not others), and how they experienced and understood these resources; and the way labels can both protect and confine a person. Consideration of how high school students understand of their label of autism can prompt us all to think more critically about how labels, and the meanings we assign to them, affect and shape experience for those who live labeled. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

Relying on the perspectives of critical disability studies and mad studies, this graduate thesis seeks to uncover the experiences of youth with undiagnosed mental health issues who have been streamed into alternative education. Guided by methodological principles of interpretive phenomenological analysis and arts-informed inquiry, the 5 participants in this study were invited to a focus group where they could engage in an arts-based activity, meant to provide the opportunity to reflect on their experience, build rapport with the researcher, express themselves through alternative means, and connect with peers who have shared experience. Participants were then invited to discuss their experiences with the topic in a one-on-one, semi-structured interview. This study reveals the ways in which the system of education, school communities, teachers, and social workers can support youth who are not diagnosed with a mental illness but still experience mental health challenges that impede on their school experience. Supported by mad studies, this study reveals how peer support has become the method of mental health response and treatment through which students feel is most effective. This study also challenges medical hegemony and the ways in which access to services is dependent on medical diagnoses. Finally, this study reminds stakeholders of the value of building trusting and empathic relationships between school staff and students. School communities and school boards are challenged to think about the structuring of their systems, and the ways in which they may present barriers to the success of all students regardless of ability and/or need. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

General education teachers are critical contributors to the successful inclusion of students labeled with learning disabilities in general education classrooms. Similarly, teacher beliefs about disability labels significantly influence how teachers include or exclude students labeled with a learning disability in their classrooms. This qualitative study investigated eight secondary general education teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion and their experiences teaching students labeled with a learning disability from a Critical Disabilities Studies perspective. Data were collected using an innovative qualitative method, Q methodology, in order to surface distinct perspectives within the group about inclusion and the experience of teaching students labeled with a learning disability in their classes. The data bore that while teachers agree with the aspirations of inclusive education, they insist they are not capable of teaching students labeled with a learning disability. These findings support the need for systemic change within teacher preparation programs and schools that can disrupt deficit notions of disability.