Top level sport for people with a disability is becoming more competitive, creating an environment in which the rewards for success and the disappointments associated with failure are often great. These are factors which clearly have the potential to place extreme psychological demands on sport performers with a disability. However, few investigations have specifically examined how athletes with a disability respond in highly stressful sporting situations. This thesis, therefore, reports 3 separate studies to investigate stress and coping in wheelchair sport participants. Study 1 examined pre-competition temporal patterning of anxiety and self-confidence in 103 wheelchair sport participants at 3 time periods preceding competition (1 week, 2 hours and 30 minutes before). The findings suggested that wheelchair sport participants show a similar pre-competition anxiety response to non-disabled sport participants. However, there were some differences, particularly in the reduction in self-confidence immediately prior to competition. The purpose of Study 2, therefore, was to explore possible: reasons as to why self-confidence may decrease in wheelchair sport participants" immediately prior to competition. Specifically, Study 2 considered the influence of disability status (i.e., possessing and not possessing a disability) on appraisal of a specific important competitive event, and how appraisal may be influenced by various psychosocial factors. The sample comprised of 75 wheelchair and 44 able-bodied sport participants. The findings showed that wheelchair and able-bodied sport participants had similar psychosocial resources and appraisal patterns; however, different factors predicted an important competitive event as challenging. Study 3 explored this further by investigating, via in-depth qualitative interviews, the sources of stress and coping responses in 10 elite male wheelchair basketball players. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed in combination to enable examination of stress source characteristics (degree of challenge, threat, harm, severity, control and frequency) and coping details (effectiveness and frequency). Whilst many of the findings were similar to those previously reported for elite able-bodied figure skaters, there were some differences. These differences appeared to relate to various disability factors and also the fact that the study was unique in examining team sport participants. Furthermore, the unique nature of the study obtaining information on stress source characteristics, and effectiveness and extent of use of coping strategies, proved to be extremely useful in gaining a more in-depth understanding of the complex stress-coping process. Finally, the findings from the three studies reported in this thesis enabled a model of stress and coping for wheelchair sport participants to be developed. In summary, the studies presented used a range of methodologies to enable an in-depth understanding of stress and coping in wheelchair sport, whilst simultaneously supporting and extending previous research in the sport domain.

<p> This study examined if diagnostic overshadowing occurred with lay people in regard to individuals with an intellectual disability, as well as investigating how lay people essentialize different categories. It was hypothesized that essentialistic thinking could be offered as a partial explanation for diagnostic overshadowing because certain mental health disorders would be categorized as having a strong, unchangeable biological component to them. Three hundred and thirty undergraduate general psychology students from the University of Central Arkansas completed the Essentialism Belief Scale on nine different concepts, read different case descriptions of an individual with or without an intellectual disorder, and gave their impressions of the individual as experiencing anxiety, depression, and if the person had an intellectual disability. Contrary to expectation, lay people did not demonstrate diagnostic overshadowing. Therefore, the relationship between essentialistic thinking and diagnostic overshadowing could not be confirmed and suggests that diagnostic overshadowing may occur for reasons other than essentialistic thinking. Interestingly, when essentialistic thinking was analyzed using a principal components analysis, a three-factor solution for essentialistic thinking was found, accounting for 72.22% of the variance, with the three factors appearing to demonstrate a biological, non-biological, and mental health grouping.</p><p>

This project explores how pupils respond to disabled characters encountered in two fictional stories and considers the potential implications such reactions hold for teaching and learning in schools. The project reviewed three streams of literature, namely books for children in which disabled characters play a part, the literature of disability studies, and literature linked to inclusive education. The research data set was gathered at group sessions held with a total of 41 pupils in four mainstream primary schools and two schools for SEN pupils. The sessions were recorded on DVD. This data set was analysed using a cluster coding convention and grounded theory model. The pupils discussed issues raised by two excerpts from works of fiction in which motor impaired characters play a significant role. The pupils responded actively, coming to grips with complex issues, presenting their own views, discussing the views of others and completing a brief written exercise. The views expressed by the pupils were often supportive of disabled people but critical where the behaviour of the disabled people in the stories warranted criticism. They rarely used prejudicial language about disabled people and they appeared to be almost unaffected by anti- disabled prejudices. One group session was held with disabled pupils at a part-boarding, part-day school for disabled pupils from age 7 to 19. These pupils showed a greater awareness of the day to day realities of life for a motor impaired person. They also showed enthusiasm or the use of books to familiarise non-disabled people with disability. The project also demonstrated that fictional texts featuring motor impaired characters can be used to teach pupils about motor impairment and to encourage them to think about what it means to be thus disabled. It identified key characteristics of the methods used for research with children. It also identified an opportunity for improved teaching in the area of disability. The KS2 curriculum for Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) makes only one mention of disability. Disability could feature more prominently in the curriculum taught by schools and individual teachers.

<p> Current disability identity theories measure disability experience in dichotomous ways: disabled and non-disabled. To expand this as dynamic, not dualistic, my study replicated Darling and Heckert's empirical study, specifically assessing college students with disabilities. I used their tool, the Questionnaire on Disability Identity and Opportunity (QDIO), to examine Disability Orientation (DO), a multifaceted concept that measures disability experience. </p><p> An exploratory factor analysis on a sample of 369 respondents revealed only two of the four Disability Factors (DF) posited by Darling and Heckert. These two DFs were found to have a significant inverse relationship such that as feelings of Exclusion/Dissatisfaction with life (ED) increased, Disability Pride (DP) decreased. An examination of DP and ED&rsquo;s effects on impairment type, Visibility of Disability (VoD), and Onset Age of Disability (OAoD) also found no significant findings. Implications are discussed about improving research and understanding of the experiences of people with disabilities </p><p>

This thesis is first and foremost about oppression - the oppression experienced in our society by those with particular impairments. It is also about technology - the new information and communication systems which have increasing primacy in today's world. Specifically it is about the ways in which the communication systems of a disablist society hold both opportunities and threats for disabled people and their organisations in the twenty first century, perhaps changing the boundaries of the disabled category. In drawing on literature from both the sociology of technology and disability studies, it contributes to two bodies of academic work. It is intended as a welcome palliative to the growing tendency towards speculative futurology that characterises both disciplines, since it places an empirical study at centre stage. It is unusual in that its main emphasis is on domestic usage of communication systems, not on their use in employment. The research participants were largely unwaged people, many of them in older age groups. The study gave participants the opportunity to describe their experiences and opinions of technological developments in the last throes of the twentieth century. Access to communications systems emerged as a major issue, with disabled people facing a variety of barriers to their beneficial use of technology. Concerns were voiced however about the provision of such systems constituting little more than a 'technical fix', cutting welfare costs,enforcing further segregation and distracting attention from the real source of disabled people's oppression. These findings highlight the increasing importance of more radical social transformation. The opportunities and threats presented by the utilisation of communication systems are examined through an analysis of their usevalue - how they allow or disallow the satisfaction of basic unmet needs. In conclusion, various recommendations are proposed which will go some way towards making technology more accessible and appropriate for disabled people. It is however acknowledged that this will merely treat a symptom of their oppression, not eradicate the cause.

Magister Artium - MA / Background: Persons with physical disabilities experience unfavorable conditions in health care, education, employment infrastructure and recreational facilities. Persons with physical disabilities have encountered challenges in accessing health services, accessing the inbuilt environment. Likewise they have also faced economic exclusion, religious exclusion and social/moral exclusion. Laws have been enacted globally, in Africa and in Kenya and the latest universal law being the United Nations Convention on Rights of Person with Disabilities. Aim of the study: To determine factors inhibiting equalization of opportunities with regards to the services in health, education, employment and to explore the factors inhibiting equalization of opportunities with regards to infrastructure and recreational facilities, to persons with physical disability in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. Study area: Research was conducted at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and APDK Mobile Outreach Centers for Persons with disability. Research Design: Mixed method approach (concurrent) was used where the researcher integrated information at the final interpretation of the results. The study was done in quantitative and qualitative phases. Research Instruments: A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data. The questionnaire that was in four sections was administered to 375 participants and it sought to determine the factors inhibiting equalization of opportunities to persons with physical disabilities with regards to health, education and employment. The reliability and validity of the research instrument was tested before use. Six focus group discussions using the nomination rule was conducted and it comprised of 6-8 participants. Structured interviews with four key informants were also held to explore the factors inhibiting equalization of opportunities to persons with physical disabilities in recreational facilities and infrastructure in Uasin Gishu County Kenya. Data analysis: Version 22 of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to pinpoint the quantitative data. Descriptive statistics was used and the findings were presented in the form of frequencies and percentages. To test the relationship between the different categories of variables inferential statistics (chi-square) was used, (p<0.05). For the qualitative data, the tape recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim, field notes typed, categorizing and ordering data was done and themes were produced. To obtain themes thematic content analysis was used. Ethics: The participants were made aware of the aim of the study, confidentiality and their freedom to withdraw from the study. Approval was obtained from the University of the Western Cape Senate Research Grants and Study Leave Committee before the study commenced. Ethical clearance was also obtained from the Institutional Research and Ethics Committee of MTRH and Moi University. Informed approval was also obtained before the survey and the FGD. Results: There were statistially significant relationship between nature of disability and workplace policies (p=0.001) to employment, distance from residence (p=0.001) to health facility and attitude of health workers on access to health. There was also a significant relationship between school policies (p=0.001) and help from family members (p=0.001) in access to education. The emerging themes in the FGD were the presence of sidewalks, zebra crossing, car parks, traffic control lights, benches and rest areas, transport adaptation, building adaptation, toilets and ramps/ lifts. The discussions in the emerging themes in the FGDs showed that persons with physical disabilities are yet to fully access infrastructure and recreational facilities. Conclusion: These results therefore showed that PWDs are yet to attain equalization of opportunities with regards to health, employment, education and recreation compared to their non-disabled counterparts and is therefore recommended that the legislations/policies in place be fully implemented in line with UN convention 2006 and persons with disabilities Act 2003 (Kenya).

<p> Although many public schools in the United States are located in rural areas, the literature on rural youth is extremely limited, and the literature on rural youth with disabilities is practically absent. The purpose of this study was to gather the perspectives of community partners regarding rural school-community partnerships and provide an understanding of (a) the community&rsquo;s role, (b) how connections in rural communities were formed, and (c) how school-community partnerships can be strengthened. This study added to the existing literature on rural school-community partnerships by providing a deeper understanding of the processes that influence the phenomenon of transition to work for rural youth with disabilities. Employing a basic qualitative research design, information from this study was captured regarding community members&rsquo; perspectives on their roles and experience partnering with rural schools to transition youth with disabilities to work. The target population consisted of community members who represented businesses and community organizations who had purposefully connected with a rural school to support youth with disabilities transitioning to work. The sample included 10 participants who took part in semistructured, one-on-one interviews to describe their experiences. Data analysis revealed the roles of the community partners and the processes they used to secure school-community partnerships. The findings indicated that the community played a vital role in transitioning youth with disabilities to work and that it took time for the community partners to adjust to their new roles of supporting youth with disabilities in the workplace. The findings provide valuable insight on how rural schools can sustain, improve, and expand their community partnerships and experiences for students with disabilities. Opportunities for future research include identification of work training opportunities for rural students with disabilities, exploration of the types of transition assessments and work skills that promote transition to work, and research with a larger sample to improve generalizability.</p><p>

Although the policies and practices of special education are openly constructed around a premise of mobility and opportunity, students from low income backgrounds (‘at risk’ youth) are twice as likely to be labeled “special.” Moreover, of all the special educational categories, learning disabilities (a diagnosis deeply contested) account for the largest group of special educational students who are ‘at risk’ learners. This project is hinged on addressing how those students who are apparent beneficiaries of special educational policies and programs (evidenced by post-secondary enrolment) make meaning of their prior and current educational experiences in relation to special educational policies, services and programs. The author begins by theorizing that such disabilities may medicalize social problems while still preserving a veneer of equality. However, since not all labels have universal meanings when applied to specific social agents, they may both hinder and help some in gaining access to post secondary education. With the support of a group of four enrolled post secondary students located in the Canadian urban west-coast, who identify as learning disabled and the recipients of related interventions, this thesis provides a complex reading of the everyday that draws upon how the students’ specific cultural and material locations inform their understanding of education, ability, disability, meritocracy and normalcy. Collecting data through semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted during the Spring and Fall of 2007, the students actively engage and challenge the author’s original theoretical and methodological assumptions. Anticipating critiques of special education, the author is surprised by the students’ support of such programs. Expecting responses to interview questions to be based on a reading of meritocracy as normalcy and disability as deficit, these students weave understandings of meritocracy and normalcy to articulate their abilities without rejecting their disability labels. In terms of policy where the emphasis is placed on disability as deficit, the findings imply that policy-makers neglect the energy and labour students invest in emphasizing their abilities. For educators, this reveals an important pedagogy of inclusion by inverting assumptions that special educational students are ‘at risk’ of educational failure without unfolding the complex ways in which they actively demonstrate their abilities. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

The topic of disability within counselling is one that has received relatively little attention, despite counselling’s focus on multicultural competencies. Some scholars argue that mental illness can be conceptualized as a disability, and that viewing it as such can provide important insight and empowerment to individuals dealing with these issues. In particular, exploring mental illness as psychological disability can provide a framework for understanding the impacts of both internal and external experiences of disability on the individual. This research draws on critical disability studies theory to frame psychological disability within a social-relational model, examining the potential impact of ableism and sanism on counselling clients with psychological disabilities. Three participants were interviewed using a semi-structured protocol to explore their experiences with counselling and psychological disability. Using interpretive phenomenological analysis, six main themes emerged: Embodied Difference, Meaning and Disability, Intersections of Identity, Emotional Labour, Language, and The Therapeutic Alliance. Implications for research, training, and practice include further exploration of intersectional identities such as gender and physical disability, and incorporating an understanding of the psycho-emotional dimensions of disability, including emotional labour, into counsellor education and practice.

M.A. (Social Work) / Please refer to full text to view abstract