Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / For young adults with disabilities in the United States, making a meaningful transition from high school to adult life has increasingly become an important issue in research,service delivery, and policy. However, despite the growing emphasis on transition, national findings continue to report discouraging post-high school outcomes. This problem is especially difficult for young adults with disabilities from diverse cultures. To address this issue, the purpose of this study was to assess the relationship of a set of socio-demographic, cultural, and support-related predictor variables and six post-high school outcomes for a sample of young adults with disabilities of White (nonLatino), Black (non-Latino), and Latino backgrounds and their families. The following three research questions were explored to confirm and extend the findings of earlier studies. 1) What are the post-high school outcomes in the areas of employment, postsecondary education/training, and social and community participation? 2) Which factors (e.g., individual, family, and economic characteristics, cultural and attitudinal factors and use of formal or informal supports) are related to positive post-high school outcomes in the areas of employment, postsecondary education/training, and social and community participation? 3) Do differences exist between young adults with disabilities in their post-high school outcomes and their patterns of contributory factors across the three racial and ethnic groups? Data from the 1994 and 1995 U.S. National Health Interview Survey on Disability (NIDS-D) was used to employ descriptive and an ex-post facto design. Analyses of the survey items produced significant results. Though this study was designed to be exploratory, the findings reveal that a complex set of factors influence positive post-high school outcomes for these young adults in six adult life areas. In addition, the relationship between predictor variables and post-high school outcome variables varied across the three racial and ethnic groups. For example, the relationship between race/ethnicity and negative early adulthood outcomes generally showed an expected trend for Blacks and Latinos as compared with Whites; being non-White decreased the likelihood of being in employment, pursuing a postsecondary education, and participating in social and recreational activities. In contrast, being White increased the likelihood of participating in the above outcome areas. Interestingly, compared with being a White female with a disability, being a Black female with a disability or a Latino female with a disability significantly increased the likelihood of participating in religious and spiritual activities. The findings generated from this study confirm the gap between minorities and nonminorities with regard to positive outcomes and access to services and further illustrate the need to identify effective policies and programs. The NIDS-D survey made it possible to assess the current situation for a sample of White, Black, and Latino, and young adults with disabilities in a manner that has not been possible to date. While future follow-up studies will be needed to bring this picture into sharper focus, the study can provide a starting point to those who are working to improve the post-high school outcomes for young adult with disabilities and their families of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. / 2999-01-01

This thesis is an occasion to examine how normalcy – as a phenomenon constructed in society and so not natural but human-made – is reproduced as a hegemonic ideal through oppressive portrayals of disability in literature. Many of the fictional texts I analyze reproduce the privileging of normalcy. I therefore work to disturb normalcyʼs hold through critical analysis of a wide variety of currently popular fiction for youth and adults. Combining interpretive inquiry and personal narrative, I bring forward new understandings of normalcy, disability and culture. Along with showing how normalcyʼs supremacy is upheld within the book industry, and critiquing texts that do disability as usual (through both survey and close analysis approaches), I discuss at length several literary works that write disability in anti-oppressive, anti-ableist ways. To close this thesis, I discuss my own transformation as an author and scholar through disability studies.

This thesis is an occasion to examine how normalcy – as a phenomenon constructed in society and so not natural but human-made – is reproduced as a hegemonic ideal through oppressive portrayals of disability in literature. Many of the fictional texts I analyze reproduce the privileging of normalcy. I therefore work to disturb normalcyʼs hold through critical analysis of a wide variety of currently popular fiction for youth and adults. Combining interpretive inquiry and personal narrative, I bring forward new understandings of normalcy, disability and culture. Along with showing how normalcyʼs supremacy is upheld within the book industry, and critiquing texts that do disability as usual (through both survey and close analysis approaches), I discuss at length several literary works that write disability in anti-oppressive, anti-ableist ways. To close this thesis, I discuss my own transformation as an author and scholar through disability studies.

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<p>Disability in South African labour law is reduced to incapacity. An evaluation of disability and incapacity was made to advocate a clear conceptual break between the two concepts. Also, that disability should be grounded in a social model paradigm of disability which was a materialist critique of how capitalism constructs disability. To enhance the analysis discourse analysis was employed to illustrate how language, ideology and power sustained the notion of disability in capitalist society. A comparative analysis was made drawing on American disability jurisprudence and Canadian disability jurisprudence to illustrate the difference in approach between the two legal systems with a suggestion that the Canadian approach was better suited to the development of a South African disability law. And the development of South African disability law it was argued would benefit if a legal construction of disability was crafted to deal with the obstacles that disabled people encounter in the work-place.</p>

<p>Disability in South African labour law is reduced to incapacity. An evaluation of disability and incapacity was made to advocate a clear conceptual break between the two concepts. Also, that disability should be grounded in a social model paradigm of disability which was a materialist critique of how capitalism constructs disability. To enhance the analysis discourse analysis was employed to illustrate how language, ideology and power sustained the notion of disability in capitalist society. A comparative analysis was made drawing on American disability jurisprudence and Canadian disability jurisprudence to illustrate the difference in approach between the two legal systems with a suggestion that the Canadian approach was better suited to the development of a South African disability law. And the development of South African disability law it was argued would benefit if a legal construction of disability was crafted to deal with the obstacles that disabled people encounter in the work-place.</p>

The awareness that people with Down syndrome are at risk of dementia at a younger age, even in their forties or fifties, brings to the fore a group previously excluded from research. Literature documents the experiences of people with Down syndrome and, separately, that of people with dementia. This includes knowledge of individual experiences through self-advocacy, inclusion in service development, policy and research, and the drive for a more person-centred way of providing support. We do not have the same knowledge about the experience of individuals who have both Down syndrome and dementia. Research literature suggests that people with Down syndrome are already marginalised before a diagnosis of dementia, due to society’s interpretation of their intellectual disability. The first quantitative stage of this longitudinal, mixed method study demonstrates the awareness of carers and actions taken post-diagnosis, highlighting the social exclusion experienced by people with Down syndrome. The second more substantive, qualitative stage considers factors that impact on the experience of individuals with Down syndrome and dementia. My observation identifies factors that highlight the process of further social and cultural marginalisation after a diagnosis of dementia. Findings are initially based on a thematic analysis of my transcribed data to develop case studies, followed by cross case analysis. Emerging issues from both stages of the research suggest commonality of experience in relation to the lack of a shared diagnosis, lack of recognition of sense of Self or identity, failure to recognise the importance of adapting communication to enable social interaction, a readiness to define a person by their situation rather than as an individual, and my observations of the impact of staff. I suggest that care and support for people with Down syndrome and dementia is at a crossroads, with an absence of shared learning between intellectual disability services and dementia services. I demonstrate how far I have been able to synthesise my approach to methodology and methods of data collection to enable the inclusion of a group previously excluded from research, incorporating both verbal and non-verbal exchanges as dementia progressed. Despite individuals with Down syndrome and dementia not being visible in service development and policy, it has been evidenced that their participation in research is not only possible, it is essential, as this group continues to enjoy a longer life expectancy that brings with it an associated risk of dementia.

Post-secondary education is an aspiration for many students; however, students with intellectual disabilities are provided few opportunities to pursue this dream. Current practices in the Ontario system of education frequently segregate and exclude students with intellectual disabilities from participation in the educational opportunities that are provided to non-disabled students. These educational practices ultimately limit opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities, and as such, fail to provide sufficient credentials to these students so they can participate in post-secondary education or employment. In recent years, alternative routes through post-secondary education across Canada, and in Ontario, have been emerging for students with intellectual disabilities. Yet, these opportunities are not enshrined in government policies or post-secondary practice, and are only provided at the discretion of a handful of post-secondary institutions across Ontario. The purpose of this study is to provide an understanding of the inclusive post-secondary education experience from the perspectives of students who were participating in inclusive college programs in Ontario. Seven participants were recruited from two colleges in Ontario that provide an inclusive post-secondary experience for students with intellectual disabilities. Through a disability studies framework, a qualitative phenomenological methodology was employed in this study to empower the participants to share their stories and hear their voices. Three in-depth individual interviews using photo-elicitation were used to invite participants to offer a rich, detailed, first-person account of their experiences in inclusive post-secondary education. Each participant’s unique story of their college experience is highlighted as a Student Portrait. The main themes that emerged from the participants combined experiences were academic growth and development, interpersonal relationships and social networks, career development and employment potential, and self-determination. Findings from this study provide evidence of the positive outcomes of participation in post-secondary education for students with intellectual disabilities, including an anticipated positive impact that would extend well into the futures of each participant. This study highlights the need for post-secondary education reform to increase such opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities. / Thesis (Ph.D, Education) -- Queen's University, 2013-09-06 10:23:21.317

Throughout history the science of mass communication has been a topic of public and academic interest. In the past 3 decades portrayals of various minority groups have been of concern to researchers, health professionals and member of these groups. This study examines how people with disabilities are portrayed within the New Zealand print media and whether or not a traditional (often negative) or progressive (often positive) modes of representations predominate in coverage. Progressive focus views disability and the problems surrounding it as being located in society's failure to accommodate all members of the population. In contrast, traditional focus views people with disabilities as dysfunctional because he or she is unable to function in an environment designed by or for people without disabilities. The research corpus comprises relating to intellectual and physical disabilities and people with disabilities published in three major newspapers of New Zealand; The New Zealand Herald, The Dominion Post and The Sunday Star Times between the 1st of June and the 1st of August 2006 (N=101). These articles were collected and the content of each article was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Aspects such as structure, content, terminology, sources used and attributes assigned to the people with disabilities were analysed within each article as a means of determining whether an article was positive, negative or neutral. Results show that within the New Zealand print media disability is generally portrayed in a positive or neutral manner. Moreover, it was discovered that Clogston's (1989) classifications of traditional and progressive focus were problematic because results indicated that a traditional mode of focus was dominate but this did not reflect a negative portrayal of disability. This may have been due to the disparities between the findings of this thesis and previous research conducted in other countries over a decade ago. Furthermore, it was found that the main source within each article was the government and this supported past research (Tichenor, Donohue, and Olien, 1980).

<p>This essay is about the staff in integrated homes very complex profession and this is illustrated through twelve interviews in five integrated homes for disabled people. The profession changed when the institution closed and especially when the Law of Support and Service (LSS) was introduced in 1994.</p><p>The purpose of this survey is to study how staff works with LSS intentions in integrated homes for disabled people and to increase the awareness about the structure of power and how this affects the daily life for those who live there.</p><p>The main objective in this survey is to find out which the differences that lie between LSS intentions and the work that take place in integrated homes for disabled people. This survey tries to illustrate when and why these differences occur. </p><p>This survey has a multidisciplinary perspective, where three models of disability and theories from Foucault, Sibley and Wendell have been included. The result shows that the staffs work is difficult, full of responsibility and has many facets. The staff needs education regarding disability, communication and LSS to reach the intentions of LSS.</p>