‘Hello, I am here!’: Psycho-Emotional Disablism in the Life Stories of People with Disabilities.

Social disablism and its effect on psycho-emotional well-being is a topic that has been examined to some extent within the scope of Disability Studies (DS). Reeve (2004) suggests expansion of the social model through incorporation of the psychoemotional dimension, which enables a thorough comprehension of disabilities. My investigations have followed this approach by way of secondary analyses of life-stories, focus group interview and field diaries of participant observation. Seven Norwegian persons living with physical disabilities shared their experience and offered insights into their lives, and five parents or personal assistants took part in the focus group interview. The research focused on the presence of direct or indirect disablism in the interviews and the field diary, its effect on the participants’ lives, and the analysis of disablism generated reactions. For a better comprehension of the results the analysis was set in a social context.