(Re)defining disability culture: Perspectives from the Americans with Disabilities Act generation

Abstract

The present study examined the views of students with varying physical disabilities on disability culture in a post-Americans with Disability Act society. Qualitative, participatory research methods were used to observe approximately 30 disabled students and conduct in-depth interviews with four disabled students. The main objective was initially to answer the following question: Do disabled students recognize an identifiable disability culture at that particular university, and if so, what does it look like? While the sheer presence of disabled students does not automatically equate to a robust disability culture, it became apparent that there was a disability culture at this site, and therefore the research question was refined to: What are the features of disability culture according to this population? The participants were all students at an institute of higher education in the Midwestern United States. The researcher self-identifies as having a disability. Using in vivo coding for analysis to preserve the voices of the participants themselves, the results indicated that there was a disability culture and the key values defining this culture included independence, social justice, and giving back to others.