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Ambivalence about disability: Why people with mild learning difficulties who are looking for employment may not identify as disabled

Tarlo, Ruth; Fyson, Rachel; Roberts, Simon

Ambivalence about disability: Why people with mild learning difficulties who are looking for employment may not identify as disabled Thumbnail


Authors

Ruth Tarlo

RACHEL FYSON rachel.fyson@nottingham.ac.uk
Professor of Social Work



Abstract

UK government policies over several decades have sought to actively encourage disabled people to take up paid employment, most recently by focusing on the ‘gap’ between employment rates of disabled and non-disabled people. These policies implicitly assume a clear distinction between people who are and are not disabled, linked to medically-oriented, hierarchical notions of deservingness. They also assume that people who need support will self-identify. This article explores factors that undermine those assumptions or expose their contradictory effects. It presents findings from qualitative research with people with mild learning difficulties, discussing their perceptions of disability and how they negotiated an ever-shifting balance of consequences of identifying as disabled or disclosing needs, linked to risks and experiences of prejudice, discrimination and exclusion.

Citation

Tarlo, R., Fyson, R., & Roberts, S. (2022). Ambivalence about disability: Why people with mild learning difficulties who are looking for employment may not identify as disabled. Disability and Society, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2022.2073199

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Apr 28, 2022
Online Publication Date May 25, 2022
Publication Date May 25, 2022
Deposit Date May 26, 2022
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Disability and Society
Print ISSN 0968-7599
Electronic ISSN 1360-0508
Publisher Informa UK Limited
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Pages 1-23
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2022.2073199
Keywords General Social Sciences; General Health Professions; Health (social science)
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/8223167
Publisher URL https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09687599.2022.2073199
Additional Information Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=cdso20; Received: 2021-06-26; Revised: 2022-04-15; Accepted: 2022-04-28; Published: 2022-05-25

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