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Transcending Operating Barriers Online for Disabled Bodies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2015

Natilene I. Bowker  and
Keith Tuffin
Natilene I. Bowker*
Affiliation:
Massey University, New Zealand. N.Bowker@massey.ac.nz
Keith Tuffin
Affiliation:
Massey University, New Zealand.
*
*Address for correspondence: Natilene Bowker, PhD, Student Learning Centre, Massey University, Private Bag 11–222, Palmerston North 5301, New Zealand.
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Abstract

People with disabilities often face physical, social, and psychological barriers in daily life because of inaccessible structures and disability prejudice. The online medium's physically, nontaxing capacity for participation as well as a lack of visually mediated cues can potentially eliminate such barriers. This study discursively explored the psychological meaning of what it meant to be online for people with disabilities, focusing on possibilities for operating beyond their standard practices in daily life. Participants were recruited from various disability organisations in New Zealand and were invited to take part in an online interview. The notion of transcending barriers to participation formed a broad pattern in participants' data. This talk comprised 3 linguistic resources: life-altering, overcoming physical barriers, and disconnecting disability. Each resource offered participants a highly positive and significant transformation in subjectivity, enabling people with disabilities to be positioned as equal members of society.

Type
Articles
Information
The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , 01 April 2006 , pp. 46 - 61
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006

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