Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Invisible disability'

People with disability are routinely excluded from public health campaigns (Kavanagh, 2020) despite that they account for approximately one in six Australians (ABS, 2019). People with invisible disability are an often-overlooked sub-group despite that they account for an estimated 90% of people with disability (Attitude Foundation, 2018) and that many invisible disabilities overlap with ill health. This thesis illuminates how a critical focus on invisible disability can improve the representation of people with invisible disability and forge new pathways for their inclusion in health campaigns on visual social media. It offers a conceptualisation and an operational definition of invisible disability that it uses as a critical lens. The thesis grapples with how to represent invisible disabilities on Instagram before drawing on two Australian government Instagram health campaigns as case studies: the NSW Healthy Eating Active Living (2020) campaign and national Girls Make Your Move (2016) campaign. It draws on elements of Briggs and Hallin’s (2016) biocommunicability theory and the concept of economies of visibility to examine both campaigns and to demonstrate how people with invisible disability are often excluded from Instagram health advice. It highlights how some of these exclusions may be underscored by broader tensions between certain invisible disabilities and biomedical knowledge and/or biomedical professionals. In response, it offers theoretical and practical suggestions about how to improve the representation and inclusion of people with invisible disability in visual social media health communications. Ultimately, the thesis demonstrates that a critical focus on invisible disability can challenge normative conceptions of health and encourage creative representation and inclusion strategies on visual social media beyond straightforwardly visually representing invisible disabilities.

Despite the success illness novels have acquired in the last decade, the misrepresentation of chronic illness in the Young Adult genre is still going unnoticed. In an ableist society that still needs to be educated about invisible disabilities, most of the contemporary YA writers insist on finding miraculous solutions and questionable happy endings to their stories. The aim of this thesis is therefore to study the different ways in which YA writers fetishize and understate invisible disability and to find a way to subvert it. By focusing on the miracle cure trope and romanticization in the case of Nicola Yoon’s Everything Everything, it attempts to highlight the characteristics of low-quality disability fiction and demonstrate why and how the use of disability biases can affect negatively both disabled and nondisabled young readers. In addition, through the scrutiny of the author’s first YA novel, Nothing Wrong with Snails, it then illustrates how the in-depth analysis of past disability literature improved the author’s personal craft and enabled them to portray chronic illness and invisible disability avoiding stereotypes, biases, and tropes. In conclusion, it argues that writers ought to rely on disability studies in order to reach higher standards in the representation of invisible disability in YA fiction.

Music Performance
D.M.A.
In The Who’s second rock opera Quadrophenia, a fictitious teenager suffers from a mental illness that gives him four distinct personalities. Its main songwriter, Pete Townshend, uses the disorder and the four personalities as a means to represent the four members of The Who through the teenage protagonist, a young mod named Jimmy. Townshend reveals Jimmy’s disposition at the conclusion of a lament written from Jimmy’s perspective in Quadrophenia’s liner notes, in a harrowing confession: “Schizophrenic? I’m bleeding quadrophenic.” In this monograph, I will examine Quadrophenia for its representations of mental illness through textual, musical, and historical perspectives and how these perspectives provide evidence toward a storyline based around the cultural concept of madness. Mental illness is an invisible illness, for the inflicted does not present noticeable symptoms to others, making it difficult to perceive and accurately diagnose. That is why within popular culture, schizophrenia is oftentimes used interchangeably with multiple personality disorder (now known as dissociative identity disorder), as is the case with Jimmy in Quadrophenia. Although these disorders are not at all similar, both are considered under the broader umbrella of madness, a term which historically was of medical and legal significance but gained political and ideological meanings in our modern society. Quadrophenia was meant as a tribute and celebration of The Who’s beginnings within the mid-60s London mod subculture. The invisible illness aspect of the storyline is worth investigating for its avoidance of treating mental illness within the medical model, in which it is considered to be a deficit of normalcy that is in need of a fix or cure. Though Jimmy struggles with his illness, it is mostly viewed as part of his adolescent character and then further used as a way of musically and textually representing The Who and the musicians’ individual characters. The Who were the epitome of music and madness; their music often spoke in terms of deviance and disobedience, while their live performances were physical and objectionably loud, sometimes concluding with the destruction of instruments. Treating mental illness, as well as physical and developmental impairments, as difference rather than deficit, is a key principle of current disability studies and its cultural model of disability. This is in opposition to the biological model in the medical field. Society has constructed madness as a binary to sanity, and thus a contrast to normalcy. As this binary is still in practice today, society as a whole continues to stigmatize mental illness and forces it to remain invisible. The Who and their embodiment of mental illness in Quadrophenia are meant not merely to arouse sympathy for Jimmy, but also to empower mental illness as a basis of character strength. The following monograph begins with an introduction to music and disability studies regarding mental illness. The next chapter offers a glimpse into the literature on The Who and Quadrophenia, including a survey of a 2013 conference dedicated exclusively to Quadrophenia. Finally, a chapter analyzes representations of mental illness in Quadrophenia within the music, society, and The Who themselves before a brief concluding chapter.
Temple University--Theses

Research on disability tourism and accessibility has predominantly focused on visible disabilities, while research on invisible disability and tourism has received very limited attention. For the most part, work on invisible disability and tourism has featured primarily on social media platforms and has been written by individuals who are themselves People with Disabilities (PWDs). This has resulted in a gap in scholarly research on invisible disability and tourism and one which this dissertation sets out to address. This study considers invisible disabilities and how they feature within the tourism industry with the focus on accessibility. A Tourism Journey Model was devised within this context and a study was made of three counties: India, South Africa and Australia. The legislation and tourism experiences relating to invisible disability were analysed and compared in these countries that represent the global South and global North. While the most recent legislation and regulations in these respective countries were consulted as primary documents, the experiences of tourists with invisible disabilities were assessed through the creation of a fictitious scenario based on social media sources. This research intends to draw attention to the accessibility of tourism regarding disabilities, with a specific focus on invisible disabilities. It highlights the gaps in the legal systems of South Africa, Australia and India regarding invisible disability tourism and accessibility, as well as the issues experienced by tourists within this realm. As regards all the phases of the Tourism Journey Model, it appears that Australia and India have a slight advantage over South Africa in terms of accommodating invisible disabilities. However, in the final analysis the study emphasises the importance of making the invisible visible.
Dissertation (MSocSci)--University of Pretoria 2020.
Andrew Mellon Foundation
Historical and Heritage Studies
MSocSci
Unrestricted

Die Dissertation beschäftigt sich mit den Vorstellungen von Krankheit, Behinderung und HIV/AIDS in KwaZulu-Natal, Südafrika. Besonderer Augenmerk liegt dabei auf den kulturellen Wurzeln und sozialen Repräsentationen von Behinderung und HIV/AIDS. Die Ergebnisse der Studie zeigen dass die sozialen Interpretationen von Beeinträchtigung erheblich dazu beitragen dass Menschen mit Behinderungen in KwaZulu-Natal einem hohen HIV-Ansteckungsrisiko ausgesetzt sind und gleichzeitig dafür sorgen dass diese Menschen kaum Zugang zu Aufklärung und medizinischer Versorgung haben. Die Studie geht bei der Analyse über den Blickwinkel Behinderung hinaus und beleuchtet südafrikanische Gesellschaftsverhältnisse auf makrokultureller, mikrokultureller und individueller Ebene. Die Studie schließt mit einem Ausblick auf Veränderungsmögichkeiten im südafrikanischen Kontext.
The study focuses on the interweaving patterns of stigmatisation between disability and HIV/AIDS in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The study was designed to understand the cultural roots of non-medical representations of disability and HIV/AIDS. The results show strong evidence that the way in which people are prone to think about and respond to disability and HIV/AIDS exposes people with disability to a particularly high risk of infection while simultaneously decreasing access to treatment and care. While unfolding hidden meanings and notions about disability and HIV/AIDS, the study analyses both phenomena on a macrocultural, microcultural and individual level. The study concludes with key messages emerging from the empirical research as well as from historical and policy analysis. Through this, it attempts to provide some guidance for transformation.

Education is one of the main priorities for both past and present global development goals, and making sure access is granted to all children is vital. However, when looking at education for children with disabilities, access is not as easily provided as for their non-disabled peers. In Cambodia, children with disabilities have a strong legislative protection despite low enrolment rates. This thesis looks further into how, and why children with disabilities in Cambodia are not in school. The empirical results based on an ethnographic study suggest that structural violence, which is violence operating indirectly through institutions and structures in society, obstructs access to education through the mechanisms of social exclusion, oppression and lack of agency. The obstructing forces are deeply rooted in the structures of the Cambodian society and physical barriers are linked to attitudinal barriers where the presence of disability causes stigmatisation that breed discrimination and exclusion. This thesis adds violence as a variable of interest when it comes to looking at development from the perspective of disability studies.

The enrollment of students with invisible disabilities has continued to increase unabated in postsecondary environments. As a result of the applicable laws governing the provision of accommodations and/or modifications in higher education, the impetus and responsibility to succeed rests almost entirely with the individual student. Research showed for many students with invisible disabilities, the transition from a more passive role in the acquisition of education at the primary and secondary levels to a more active role in the acquisition of higher education at the post-secondary level was difficult, as evidenced by a large percentage of such students failing to complete their degrees (Barber, 2012, Hadley, 2006; 2011, Skinner, 2004). Nonetheless, some of the same research indicated some students with invisible disabilities succeeded and completed their degrees (Barber, 2012, Skinner, 2004). The literature suggested that certain characteristics, particularly self-determination, were at least in part responsible for the success of these students.

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the level of self-determination in successful students with invisible disabilities who participated in higher education. Data were collected through the administration of an online, anonymous, and untimed survey that ocnsisted of Wehmeyer and Kelchner's (1995) Arc Self-Determination Scale, as modified by Jameson (2007), as well as supplemental questions both adapted from Stage and Milne (1996) and created by the investigator. Levels of self-determination between successful students with invisible disabilities and their otherwise non-disabled peers were measured and analyzed for significant differences in means. The quantitative data revealed no significant difference in means on any domain score, including the Self-Determination Total score between groups, as measured by the modified Arc. Subsequent content analyses of supplemental questions revealed identical emerging themes in both participant groups, which aligned with Wehmeyer's essential characteristics of self-determination.

Dual sensory impairment (DSI) is a combination of vision and hearing impairment or loss, which varies in severity and is particularly prevalent in older age. DSI is a unique disability that sits at the intersection of ageing and disability, a complex medical issue with profoundly social consequences that has received little attention in health policy or disability research and practice. DSI presents significant challenges to older adults, their families and those with whom they interact, and despite its growing global prevalence, is underexplored in extant literature. This study uses grounded theory to explore the social meaning and experiences of older adults with DSI and their family carers in Australia. Multiple physical, social and emotional impacts of DSI contribute to reduced social participation and declining availability of social networks. Critically, smaller social networks reduce access to resources and support, with the spouse, or significant other, becoming the main locus of support and, by default, social engagement. Using Charmaz’s constructivist grounded theory methodology, this thesis examines the dyadic, that is, the interrelated, social experiences of two persons in a DSI context, through the narratives of both older adults with DSI and their family carers (n=23), to extend current and develop new understandings of the meaning and experiences of DSI in a social context. Findings from this study establish that the social experience of DSI can be understood as a series of asynchronous transitions and shared experiences that occur between the older person with DSI and their family carer. These findings are conceptualised as an ‘enduring state’, which represents the interrelated and embedded actions involved in the daily life work of DSI. This research draws attention to the hidden arduous ‘lines of work’ shared by both those with DSI and their family carers, specifically the social work of DSI. This social line of work reflects experiences of social exclusion and poor recognition of DSI at micro, meso and macro levels of society. The age of participants, their associated co morbidities and declining personal agency impact access to the limited resources, support and information available, despite significant effort on their part. Complex processes of emotional and interactional disconnection are characterised by social loss, social effort and social isolation, shaped by changing roles and asynchronous adaptation to living with DSI. Caring in this context is often predominantly social and ‘invisible’. To reduce the social effort of their family member with DSI and to maintain their own self-identity, family carers in this context adopted a ‘conscious caring’ approach. This is conceptualised in this thesis as an approach to caring that accounts for the subtle and enduring shared impacts of DSI. The power of ‘conscious’ in this context is the level of understanding of DSI that empowers family carers to recognise the shared elements of DSI and facilitate better articulation of needs to engage others within their care network. Caring was multifactorial with key characteristics of negotiation, facilitation, guardianship and creating opportunities. These caring characteristics were dynamic and strategic in that family carers sought opportunities that were mutually beneficial. Conscious caring contextualises the capacity of family carers to access resources embedded in their social networks by bridging the gap between the dyad (close ‘bonding’ ties) and broader social networks (i.e. weaker, ‘bridging’ and more diverse networks). Social capital is a critical factor in DSI; it is defined in this thesis as the flow of resources (such as social support, health information) via social networks at a personal and interpersonal level. A reduction in both bonding and bridging networks limits personal, social and psychosocial resources and impacts the capacity of the dyad to renegotiate their roles, create and maintain their individual and shared social networks, and successfully transition to living with DSI. This study adopts a novel approach to understanding the social experiences of DSI from the ‘ground up’, that is, from the perspectives of older adults with DSI and their family carers. The shared experiences of DSI suggest that a socially inclusive, relational and interdisciplinary approach to future service, research and practice has merit in bridging the social gap that currently exists in the care and support available to the DSI family.

Tourism has become a major part of today's society and has been seen as a human privilege. The expansion of tourism makes travel more accessible to more people. Still, people with a disability can face difficulties when traveling for the purpose of tourism. Information becomes important to accomplish accessible tourism for everyone, but the problem in various tourism disciplines occurs with the lack of knowledge about people with disabilities.  Tourism has different disciplines. Transportation is one of the basics of making tourism accessible around the world. Transportation has a major impact on tourism development but also in tourist experiences. If the transportation mode is not accessible, it can be a negative experience for people with a disability and can affect the entire journey and their willingness to attempt further trips. Disability is a broad definition and it is important to understand that different disabilities require different needs and that everyone is individual. This study analyzes how hearing loss affects travelers and the understanding of; (1) What may be needed to assist people with hearing impairments when traveling; (2) How does traveling affect people with hearing impairment when they do not have accessibility? The method is a qualitative method with in-depth interviews because this study wants to understand and reflect participants’ experiences when traveling with a hearing impairment.

Le traitement du handicap et la place des personnes handicapées a varié selon les époques. Actuellement, dans la lignée des droits de l’homme, les politiques nationales et internationales tendent à promouvoir l’égalité pour tous les hommes et la lutte contre les discriminations se concrétise par des politiques publiques actives, dans la plupart des pays. Au niveau de l’Éducation, le concept d’inclusion a été avalisé à la Conférence de Salamanque (UNESCO 1994), et sa mise en oeuvre est décrite comme « une réforme qui appuie et accueille favorablement la diversité de tous les apprenants » (UNESCO 2001). En France, la loi du 11 février 2005 a introduit une évolution majeure dans le traitement social des personnes handicapées. L’éducation inclusive dans son paradigme appelle à une prise en compte de la complexité de l’humain et des institutions auxquelles il appartient. La présente recherche tend à rendre compte de certains aspects de cette complexité en mettant au jour les représentations et les pratiques d’inclusion en collège auprès d’élèves en situation de handicap à dominante visible ou invisible et en les mettant en lien avec la construction individuelle et interactionnelle de ces adolescents. Quatre dimensions ont été étudiées à partir de la situation de cinq élèves en situation de handicap à dominante visible ou invisible. Le contexte scolaire est le premier niveau : il apporte une structuration objective au processus d’inclusion par la présence d’un dispositif, d’une organisation et de personnes investies dans ce projet. Les représentations du handicap et les pratiques pédagogiques des enseignants sont interrogées dans le deuxième niveau. Le troisième niveau est celui des pairs des élèves en situation de handicap, où ont été questionnés les réseaux socio-affectifs des classes. Enfin, le quatrième niveau concerne la dimension individuelle des cinq élèves. Les résultats de cette recherche de type ethnographique indiquent que la structuration du contexte inclusif a une influence sur la représentation du handicap activée : plus elle est visible car portée par un dispositif et des personnels qui lui sont dédiés, plus la représentation du handicap est riche. Le noyau de la représentation du handicap chez les enseignants (constitué des éléments « monstre », « mort », « handicap physique », « fauteuil roulant » et « autisme ») est identique à celui rencontré dans la population générale, avec une variation spécifique professionnelle (« dyslexie ») entrant dans le champ de la réparation possible du handicap. Lorsque la structuration de l’inclusion est humainement investie, une représentation dite « de reliance » intègre les différents niveaux antérieurs de la représentation et y intègre la situation de handicap. En ce sens, elle est évoluée car elle prend en considération les dernières avancées sociétales en la matière ; on peut la penser aussi transitoire, au même titre que la forme actuelle de l’Éducation inclusive. Des archétypes sont sous-jacents à ces représentations et diffèrent selon la visibilité (où l’archétype activé est celui du monstre et de l’altérité fondamentale) ou l’invisibilité du handicap (où l’archétype activé est celui de l’étranger et de l’inconnaissable), cette notion faisant le lien entre la perception et la représentation dans la dimension intrapsychique de l’individu. Les représentations peuvent évoluer par mise au jour, acceptation et intégration de ses différentes composantes d’une part, par l’expérience concrète discutée et réfléchie du processus inclusif par ses acteurs d’autre part. Ceci induit alors une co-construction entre les différents partenaires et la nécessité de formation pour accéder à une compréhension des singularités des élèves porteurs d’altérité dans l’objectif d’identifier et de répondre à leurs besoins éducatifs particuliers
The treatment of the handicap and the of persons with disabilities has varied over time. Currently, in line with human rights, national and international policies tend to promote équality for all men and the fight against discrimination becomes a reality by active public policies in most countries. At the education level, the concept of inclusion was endorsed at the Salamanca conference (UNESCO, 1994) and its implementation is described as « a reform that supports and welcomes the diversity of all the learners » (UNESCO, 2001). In France, the law of 11 February 2005 introduced a major change into the social treatment of disabled people. Inclusive Education calls to a consideration of the complexity of the human person and the institutions to which he belongs. This research aims to account for some aspects of this complexity by bringing to light the representations and practices of inclusion in middle school among pupils with dominant visible or invisible disabilities and by linking them to the individual and interactionnal construction of these adolescents. Four dimensions were studied based on the situation of five students with visible or invisible disabilities. The school context is the first level : it provides an objective structure to the inclusion process by the presence of a device, an organization and people involved in this project. We then questioned the representations of disability and the pedagogical practices of the teachers in the second level. The third level is the one of the peers of the disabled pupils, where the socio-affective networks were questioned. Finally, the fourth level concerns the individual dimension of the five selected pupils. The results of this ethnograhic research indicate that the structuring of the inclusive context has an influence on the activated representation of the handicap : the more it is visibly carried by a system and a dedicated staff, the richer is the representation. The core-representation of disability among teachers (consisting in « monster », « death », « physical disability »,« wheelchair » and « autism » elements) is identical to the one found in the general population, with a professional specific variation (« dyslexia ») within th scope of possible disability repair. When the structuring of inclusion is carried by a lot of invested people, a representation called « linking » integrates the different previous levels of the representation and joins the situation of disability. In this sense, it is evolved because it considers the latest sociatal advances in this field ; it can be thought as transitional, in the same way as the current form of inclusive education. Archetypes are underlying these representations and differ according to the visibility (where the activated archetype is the one of the monster and fondamental alterity) or the invisibility (which activate the archetype of the stranger and the unknowable), this motion making the link between perception and representation in the psychic dimension of the individual. Representations may evolve by uncovering, accepting and integrating its diffrents components by the individual on the one hand, and by the concrete experience discussed and reflected by the actors on the other. This then leads to a co-construction between partners and the need for training to access an understanding of the singularities of students with alterities in order to identify and respond to their special educationnal needs

Dans un contexte où le législateur impose aux organisations françaises une intégration des personnes handicapées et où celles-ci sont le plus souvent perçues comme des ressources négatives, cette thèse interroge les potentialités des travailleurs dyslexiques en termes de compétences dans le but de déterminer si ces derniers peuvent constituer une ressource positive. En adoptant une méthode du récit de vie, cette thèse s’intéresse au processus d’élaboration des compétences des travailleurs dyslexiques. L’analyse des données recueillies montre que ce processus se met en place selon une combinaison de facteurs propres à la configuration neurologique de ces personnes, qui permet par la même la création de compétences idiosyncratiques. Si les résultats issus des entretiens nous démontrent que ces dernières sont détentrices de compétences utiles pour le contexte organisationnel, et constituent ainsi une ressource positive, un certain nombre de facteurs concourent le plus souvent à les rendre invisibles aux yeux des managers. Cette myopie des compétences idiosyncratiques des travailleurs dyslexiques contribue à faire de ceux-ci des ressources cachées
While the legislation imposes the integration of people with disabilities to French organisations, those people are often perceived as negative organisational resources. In this context, this PhD thesis focuses on determining if dyslexic workers’ can be a positive organisational resource by investigating their potential competencies. This work relies on the life stories of twenty dyslexic workers and sheds light on the process of competencies development in which they engage. The analysis stresses that the dyslexic workers’ neurological configuration influences this process, which in turn creates idiosyncratic competences. The findings emphasise that those competencies have organisational value and that, therefore, those workers are a positive organisational resource. However, it also reveals that some factors, such as the orchestration of resources, tend to make those competences invisible to managers. This myopia participates in making the dyslexic workers hidden resources

Since 1973, the year in which Elaine Hedges's groundbreaking edition of "The Yellow Wallpaper" was published, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story has been read primarily as one of America's leading feminist texts. With potent symbolism and a fragmented style of narration, it is easy to understand why many feminist scholars fashion the story's narrator into a proactive feminist, a courageous heroine who rebels against patriarchal oppression. While this trend of interpretation compellingly attempts to empower the narrator, it often overlooks her perspective of disability and projects the characteristics of a nondisabled, high-functioning feminist on a mentally ill woman. This paper reads Gilman's short story as a narrative of mental illness and applies the research of feminist disability scholars Anita Silvers, Jenny Morris, and Susan Wendell to a close reading of the story. Approaching the story from this perspective, we can identify the systems of oppression that disable the narrator and read "The Yellow Wallpaper" in a way that validates the subjective reality of depression and invites disabled voices into feminism's exploration of womanhood.

identity play an important role in how they communicate and interact with other individuals. One group in which identity construction and navigation is a difficult process is the hearing impaired population. In an effort to understand how these individuals construct their identity and navigate their hearing impairment, this study utilizes Communication Theory of Identity. Through the use of interactive interviews, the researcher was able to examine how 11 participants manage their identity as hearing impaired individuals. The interviews provided insight into the four layers of identity proposed by CTI – personal, relational, enacted, and communal – in the hearing impaired individual. The author discusses the themes within each of the four layers and the gaps present between the layers that emerged as the hearing impaired participants discussed how they navigate their hearing impairment. Furthermore, the implications of these themes and gaps within the hearing impaired individual’s identity, such as feeling disconnected from both the Deaf and hearing communities, are examined.

To live a life protected from exploitation, violence, and abuse is a fundamental human right. However, this seems to be a difficult human right to fulfill, at least for women and girls living with disabilities. This thesis examines the topic of sexual violence against women and girls with disabilities in the townships Langa and Gugulethu, Western Cape Province, South Africa. By addressing the research question: How is the nature, forms, and prevalence of sexual violence experienced and perceived by women and girls with disabilities? The results of the 14 semi-structured interviews that were conducted with staff members from three local NGO’s and eleven relatives to women and girls with physical and intellectual disabilities expose a high prevalence of sexual violence. In this small investigative study, two out of eleven participants had not been subjected to sexual violence, which means that 82% of these girls had been sexually violated at least once in their lifetime and only four had reported their case to the SAPS, which is a total of 64% in this sample. These violations of basic human rights are discussed and analyzed through four themes: attitudes and values, social norms and beliefs, barriers to reporting, and the police and justice system. It is clear that to create a safe and protected environment and end gender-based violence against disabled women and girls a change in the perception that society has on disabled people is needed. Without change from within the society gender-based violence and sexual violence against women and girls with disabilities will continue to grow.

Chronic illness and invisible disability are impactful contexts during emerging adulthood and the launching stage of the family life cycle (Beatty, 2011; Capelle, Visser, and Vosman, 2016; Young et al., 2010). The parent-child relationship is important to both developmental and health outcomes in families coping with chronic illness during emerging adulthood (Crandell, Sandelowski, Leeman, Haville, and Knafle, 2018; Fenton, Ferries, Ko, Javalkar, and Hooper, 2015; Waldboth, Patch, Mahrer-Imhaf, and Metcalfe, 2016). While informed clinical competency in counseling families experiencing disablement is a diversity-affirmative ethical imperative among psychotherapists (Mona et al., 2017), little is known in family therapy about how parents and emerging adult children experience launching with chronic illness. This qualitative study explored the parent-child dyadic experience of living with a chronic illness called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) during emerging adulthood. Seven dyads of parents and their emerging adult children with POTS were interviewed. Data analysis of in-depth interviews using Moustakas's (1994) transcendental phenomenology uncovered eight thematic clusters of meaning in the shared lived experience of POTS at the launching stage of the family life cycle. Clinical implications for family therapists were explored using Rolland's family system-illness (FSI) model of medical family therapy. Study limitations and future directions for further research were discussed.
Master of Science
More and more young adults are living with chronic illness. Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) is a little-known chronic illness that tends to begin during adolescence. Like many health problems that disproportionately affect women, POTS is often overlooked by doctors. POTS symptoms, such as dizziness and cognitive difficulty, impact a person's ability to engage in preferred activities and identities. Family therapists can play an impactful role in supporting parents and children with POTS through developmental tasks related to launching an emerging adult in the context of this complex and widely misunderstood chronic illness. This thesis presented the first qualitative study of parent-child dyadic experiences living with POTS. Clinical implications for medical family therapy were highlighted. To construct an interview framework, Rolland's Family Systems-Illness (FSI) clinical model for helping families cope with illness and disability was used in conjunction with Arnett's description of emerging adulthood as a developmental stage in life. Seven parent-child dyads were interviewed for 1-2 hours in fourteen separate interviews generating transcripts about 140,000 words long in total. Analysis of these interviews identified shared themes composing the essence of the parent-child experience living with POTS during emerging adulthood. Results were described through tables and narratives. Clinical implications for family therapists working with parents and children with POTS during emerging adulthood were proposed. Limitations and ideas for future studies were discussed.

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of health promotion for a group of young adult African American men with invisible disabilities. This hermeneutic phenomenological study used a non-experimental, descriptive design. The purposive sample consisted of 11 young adult, English-speaking, non-institutionalized, African American men with invisible disability between the ages of 25 and 39 years of age living in the Central Texas metropolitan area. This study's research questions were answered using audio-taped, one-on-one qualitative interviews along with detailed fieldnotes. Participants were interviewed twice at a mutually decided upon location to ensure the privacy and comfort of participants. For these young men, an essential component of health promotion involved the reestablishment and reorganization of their bodies in the world while adjusting to living with disability. For them, the essential structure of health promotion was comprised of the following themes: Reconciling Perspectives of the Self, Embracing the Current Body, and Reorienting the Body in the World. Their lived experience of health promotion was reflected in the following themes: Risking the Body to Preserve the Self, Accepting the Evolving Body, and Seeking the Body's Redemption. For this group of young adult African American men, their health promotion experience required risking the body, putting the needs of the self before the needs of the body, and then accepting and valuing the resulting condition of the body.
text

Individuals with non-apparent, physical disabilities face unique social challenges from those that are encountered by the more visibly disabled. The absence of visible cues indicating physical impairment causes ambiguity in social situations, leaving the sufferer vulnerable to moral judgments and social sanctions when they are unable to embody and perform to cultural norms. This dynamic generates a closeted status that the individual must learn to navigate. Using Eve Sedgwick's "The Epistemology of the Closet," this paper deploys auto-ethnography, traditional ethnographic techniques, and literature reviews to illuminate a third space of functioning between the outwardly 'healthy' and the visibly disabled.

In Canada mental health related concerns are estimated to cost the economy $20-$50 billion annually. 500,000 Canadian each week have to take time off of work because of a mental health disability. This study explores the experiences of people living with a mental health disability in the workplace. The goal is to provide an opportunity to highlight many of the obstacles they face every day. This study relies on qualitative methodologies, using semi-structured interviews to get a more detailed understanding of their experiences. This study not only highlights the perceptions, experience and challenges of people living with a mental health disability, it highlights coping strategies and suggestions for building mentally health workplaces. The participant’s personal narratives can help by providing a chance for a community to build and be used to challenge the stigma and discrimination associated with mental health.
October 2016