Ethnographic research in disability identity: self-determination and community

The emergence of a positive disability identity has occurred nearly simultaneously with the growth of a disability community and the practice of active self-determination. It is clear that these experiences are active processes. Disabled people have not often had the formal opportunity to discuss and build upon these ideas in environments that supported these exchanges. This study reports data from two discussion sessions and one data interpretation and analysis group that focused on disability identity issues such as: ‘who is us’; ‘disability pride’; ‘disability positive’; ‘disability culture and community’; and ‘self-determination’. An exploratory, non-experimental design for this study was selected because the methodology provided the opportunity for exploration and clarification of meaning and intention. This 3-year project first identified the emergence of an inclusive disability community perception. It progressed from an articulation of identity to an assertion of self-determination, which included the vital importance of disabled people determining the interpretation of their experiences and relating their own stories.