Table Of ContentFrench-3638-Prelims.qxd 12/20/2007 7:40 PM Page i
Disability on Equal Terms
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Disability on Equal Terms
Edited by
John Swain and Sally French
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Editorial Arrangement © John Swain and Sally French,2008
Chapter 2 © Tom Shakespeare,2008 Chapter 13 © Anna-Stina,2008
Chapter 3 © Margaret Taylor,2008 Chapter 14 © Carole Pound,2008
Chapter 4 © Colin Goble,2008 Chapter 15 © Rae Spain,2008
Chapter 5 © Martina Higgins,2008 Chapter 16 © Maureen Gillman,2008
Chapter 7 © Alan Sutherland,2008 Chapter 17 © Clare Evans,2008
Chapter 8 © Toby Brandon and Alice Elliot,2008
Chapter 9 © Karen Beeton,2008
Chapter 12 © Elaine Ballantyne and Andrew Muir,2008
First published 2008
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or
private study,or criticism or review,as permitted under the
Copyright,Designs and Patents Act,1988,this publication may
be reproduced,stored or transmitted in any form,or by any means,
only with the prior permission in writing of the publishers,or in
the case of reprographic reproduction,in accordance with the terms
of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.Enquiries
concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to
the publishers.
SAGE Publications Ltd
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Library of Congress Control Number:2007931606
British Library Cataloguing in Publication data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-4129-1987-6
ISBN 978-1-4129-1988-3 (pbk)
Typeset by C&M Digitals Pvt Ltd,Chennai,India
Printed in Great Britain by The Cromwell Press Ltd,Trowbridge,Wiltshire
Printed on paper from sustainable resources
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Contents
Acknowledgements for Disability on Equal Terms vii
Introduction 1
Section I The Tragedy View of Impairment and Disability 5
1 There but for Fortune 7
Sally French and John Swain
2 Disability,Genetics and Eugenics 21
Tom Shakespeare
3 Disabled in Images and Language 31
Margaret Taylor
4 Institutional Abuse 42
Colin Goble
5 The Narratives of Disabled Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse 52
Martina Higgins
Section II From a Different Viewpoint 63
6 Affirming Identity 65
John Swain and Sally French
7 Choices,Rights and Cabaret:Disability Arts and Collective Identity 79
Allan Sutherland
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vi Contents
8 The Art of Affirming Identity 90
Toby Brandon and Alice Elliott
9 An Exploration of the Quality of Life of Adults with Haemophilia 104
Karen Beeton
10 Disabled People’s Testimonies 115
Jasvinder,Arlene,Geoffand Alice
Section III On Equal Terms 127
11 On Equal Terms 129
Sally French and John Swain
12 In Practice from the Viewpoint of an Occupational Therapist 142
Elaine Ballantyne and Andrew Muir
13 In Practice from the Viewpoint of a Physiotherapist 150
Anna-Stina with Sally French and John Swain
14 Communication Disability:Exploring New Personal and
Professional Narratives 156
Carole Pound
15 In Practice from the Viewpoint of a Disabled Nurse 164
Rachael Spain
16 In Practice from the Viewpoint of a Social Worker 171
Maureen Gillman
17 In Practice from the Viewpoint of Disabled People 177
Clare Evans
Conclusion:Some Reflections on Key Questions 184
References 187
Index 206
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Acknowledgements for
Disability on Equal
Terms
Every effort has been made to trace all the copyright holders, but if any have been
inadvertently overlooked the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrange-
ment at the first opportunity.
Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to repro-
duce material in this book.
Macfarlane,A.(1994) Watershed,in Keith,L.(ed.) Mustn’t Crumble:writing by disabled
women.London:The Women’s Press.Reproduced with kind permission of the author
Cameron, C. (1998) “Sub Rosa” in Sub Rosa:Clandestine Voices.Tyneside Disability
Arts,Wallsend.Reproduced with kind permission of the author
Sinclair, G. (1999) “Co ming Out” in Transgressions. Tyneside Disability Rats,
Wallsend.Reproduced with kind permission of the author
Higgins, M., and I. Stanton. “Tragic but Brave” http://www.johnnypops.
demon.co.uk/poetry/songs/incurables.html
Brisenden, S. (undated) “Scars”, from Poems for Perfect People. Self-published.
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies/archiveuk/brisenden/Poems.pdf
Brandon, D. (1990) “Brockhall Hospital” from Strange Places: experiences in mental
handicap hospital.Salford:University College Salford.Reproduced with permission of
the author’s estate
Brandon, D. (1981) “The Barrier” from Voices of experience consumer perspectives of
psychiatric treatment.MIND.Reproduced with permission of the author’s estate
Ireland,C.(undated) “Creative Window Truthteller”From the collection Epochs and
Elispe and Epics,not yet published.Reproduced with kind permission of the author
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French-3638-Introduction.qxd 12/20/2007 7:40 PM Page 1
Introduction
Over the past ten to twenty years there has been a growing literature that has
addressed disability from a social model viewpoint, that is analysing the barriers
within a disablist society and challenging individual,particularly medical,models that
site the problem within the person with an impairment. Such texts can be found
throughout the social sciences,some in the arena of sociology,some in disability stud-
ies as an academic discipline in its own right, and some directed to specific profes-
sional audiences.This book builds on this existing literature but has a particular focus.
It sets out to challenge the tragedy model of disability and impairment.It confronts
presumptions about disabled people’s lifestyles,quality of life,aspirations and needs.
In doing so it explores the disablism inherent in western culture,within the disablist
language,images and ideologies that are the warp and weft of daily living.It also chal-
lenges the professional policy,provision and practice founded in presumptions about
disabled people, and looks towards possibilities for change generated by the proud,
angry and strong voices of disabled people.
As editors,our starting points came from two directions.The first was the need for
a second edition or update of a text edited by Sally French:On Equal Terms:Working
with Disabled People (1994a).This text has been widely used within disability studies
and although the present text is not a second edition,we wanted to retain some of its
qualities and aspirations,particularly in addressing the implications for the develop-
ment of professional services.To signal this we retained the phrase ‘on equal terms’.
Our second starting point came from the wish to develop the notion of an affirmative
model of impairment and disability that we had tentatively explored in previous pub-
lications (such as French and Swain,2004).The imperative to do so comes from many
directions.Evidence of the continuing and pervasive dominance of the tragedy view
of disability confronts us all again and again.For example,the front-page headline in
the Sunday Times (5 November 2006) read:‘Doctors: Let Us Kill Disabled Babies’.
Whatever the ins and outs of the debate in the report, the headline speaks directly
to the crux of the tragedy model:better dead than disabled.The continuing abuse of
