Carol J. Gill

Dating and relationship issues

ConclusionsThe subject of dating and relationships for women with disabilities is one of those areas for which we have many more questions than answers, more suggested tendencies than demonstrated patterns of variables. If research pursuits reflect social values, it makes sense that a society that has long ignored or disdained the gender role of women with disabilities has invested little effort in understanding their potential for love, partnership and motherhood.Faced with an intolerable information void, women with disabilities have been increasingly forthright in reporting our relationship experiences our goals, our joy, and our solitariness. The generosity of those who tell their stories has helped all of us women with disabilities to become more visible as women. There remain, however, too many unknowns. Women with disabilities want facts to guide our efforts—efforts cautiously and thriftily expended by necessity. More than ever, we feel entitled to better research studies that address our dreams.Some of our most urgently asked questions concern relationships. What makes a woman with a disability attractive to a partner? How do you navigate the obstacles from attraction to commitment? How have some women with disabilities managed to be more successful than others in relationships? What are the relationship experiences of lesbians with disabilities? What factors determine the viability of “mixed” partnerships involving individuals with and without disabilities, and how do such persons surmount the obstacles of prejudice and frustration? What factors lead to and enhance intimacy between partners with disabilities? These are the questions of women with a growing sense of entitlement to being heard and to being adequately understood. Women with disabilities are becoming as determined to find answers as we have always been determined to find love.

Facebook Use by Persons with Disabilities

Social network sites have a potential to empower persons with disabilities. However, this issue has received little attention in research. As a step toward addressing this need, we conducted an online survey about how persons with disabilities use Facebook. We used primarily descriptive statistics and also compared activities relating to nondisabled and disabled friends and groups. The findings indicated that the 172 persons with disabilities who responded to our survey use Facebook much as others do, meaning that they primarily connect with their nondisabled Facebook friends. They have not yet used the potential of Facebook to promote advocacy activities through groups. These findings, including how to mine the potential of social network sites for persons with disabilities, are discussed.

Depression in the context of disability and the "right to die".

Arguments in favor of legalized assisted suicide often center on issues of personal privacy and freedom of choice over ones body. Many disability advocates assert, however, that autonomy arguments neglect the complex sociopolitical determinants of despair for people with disabilities. Specifically, they argue that social approval of suicide for individuals with irreversible conditions is discriminatory and that relaxing restrictions on assisted suicide would jeopardize, not advance, the freedom of persons with disabilities to direct the lives they choose. This paper examines the idea promoted by some proponents of assisted suicide that it is reasonable to be depressed about ones diminished quality of life in cases of irreversible illness or disability and, therefore, such depression should not call into question the individuals competence to request assistance in dying. The concept of rational depression is defined and examined in the context of: four real-life cases involving individuals with disabilities who requested assistance in dying; a set of criteria commonly applied to decision-making to determine rationality; and research bearing on the emotional status of people with disabilities. It is concluded that although disability is associated with particular socially mediated stressors, there is no theoretical or empirical evidence to indicate that depression and its role in the “right to die” is dynamically different, more natural, or more reasonable for disabled people than for non-disabled people.

How do adults with intellectual disabilities use Facebook

Social networking sites have potential to support social relationships and self-determination of people with intellectual disabilities. However, to date, this issue has received little research attention. To help address this need, we conducted an online research survey to reach adults with intellectual disabilities who use Facebook and to include their voices about their online experiences, challenges, and preferences. We used mixed methods for data collection and analysis. Results from 58 respondents indicated that they use Facebook much as non-disabled users do to connect with family members and real-world friends. At the same time, the respondents reported challenges such as privacy setting and literacy demands. We discuss these findings and how to make social networking sites more accessible for users with intellectual disabilities.

The Characteristics of Unsuccessful E-Mentoring Relationships for Youth With Disabilities

Recently, researchers have focused on the benefits of e-mentoring for young people with disabilities, such as greater access to sources of information and support. Relatively few researchers have explored the problem of unsuccessful e-mentoring relationships, i.e., mentors and mentored individuals who withdraw from an e-mentoring program before completion. Our findings promote understanding of the dynamics of unsuccessful vs. successful e-mentoring relationships for youth with disabilities. Using qualitative methods, we focused primarily on negative online experiences. We compared the e-mentoring process of six “unsuccessful” pairs of mentors and mentored students who withdrew from an e-mentoring program with three exemplary “successful” pairs who fully completed the program. Our findings revealed different communication patterns in the two groups. Whereas the unsuccessful pairs used a more formal style and distant tone, the successful pairs used an informal and supportive style. We discuss these differences, including the components that are essential to success.

Influence of a Support Group for Young Women With Disabilities on Sense of Belonging

Women and girls with disabilities face obstacles to community participation and social acceptance. Consequently, as adolescent women with disabilities mature into adulthood, they may have difficulty feeling that they belong both in the general community and in the community of all women. The positive impact of peer support groups for young women with disabilities on their sense of belonging has been underinvestigated. We conducted in-depth, semistructured interviews with 9 members of a well-established empowerment support group for young women with disabilities to explore how the group might foster a sense of belonging to the general community as well as a sense of shared womanhood. Results revealed that self-confidence and disability pride stemming from participation in the group were essential in helping the women counteract exclusionary messages from the outside world. The group provided an opportunity to develop a positive disability identity and to gain new information regarding the ability and right to identify as women. Reciprocal bonds with other group members helped cultivate feelings of belonging. In turn, the women communicated their empowered identities and the disability rights information they learned in the group to their friends, family, and community members. The group offered the women various platforms to assert their right to belong and, therefore, to participate in the world as women and as independent members of their broader communities. These results show how peer support groups for young women with disabilities can positively influence their sense of belonging both within the group and in the world outside the group.

Disability Stigma in Rehabilitation

In the 26 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed, we have seen changes in access, knowledge, and a move towards equity for people with disabilities; however, societal attitudes and implicit and explicit biases continue to impact the way that people with disabilities are viewed, represented, and treated. A simple definition of stigma from Merriam Webster is “a set of negative and often unfair beliefs that a society or group of people have about something” [1]. In his classic book, Stigma: On the Management of a Spoiled Identity [2], Erving Goffman, a sociologist by training, described and delineated the concept of stigma and how it impacts society. He described complex phenomena that include devaluation and marginalization. Although critiqued and refined over the years, the concept of stigma that Goffman described is a robust and important one to consider. Stigma, and more specifically disability stigma, is part of the social, psychological and ethical context in which physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) clinicians practice. This columnwill explore the concept of disability stigma and its impact on the practice of rehabilitation medicine. This idea for a column is based in large part on a course that I teach to undergraduates at Northwestern University called “Disability and Global Health,” in which we define, discuss, and consider disability stigma in various contexts around the world. We also discuss disability rights and disability ethics in the United States. One of the first reading assignments for the course is an article by Lerita Coleman, “Stigmadan enigma demystified” [3]. Coleman writes that stigma has at least 3 components:

Exploring How Christians and Atheists Deal with Issues Related to Their Disability

ABSTRACT Spirituality is an understudied topic among people with disabilities, particularly among atheists with disabilities. The current paper explores the research question: how do the spiritual beliefs of people with disabilities affect how they deal with issues related to their disability? Data for this study were gathered from interviews of individuals with disabilities who identified as either Christian or as atheist/agnostic. Atheists reported using meditation to deal with issues related to their disabilities, while Christians reported using prayer. Interestingly, people from both spiritual groups relied on developing a sense of connection with others to deal with issues related to their disability.