Social construction of Anangu disability

ABSTRACT: The usual and common-sense definition of disability is based on a medical model that sees disability as a limitation or lack of competence on the part of the individual. This definition fails to acknowledge that in some cultures disability as a concept does not exist. This paper, based on research undertaken in 1994/1995, examines how the social construction of disability among the A n angu of the cross border region of Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory, takes into consideration the important factors of history, culture and language. The theoretical underpinning of the research was symbolic interactionism, which led to collaborative ethnography becoming the methodology employed to collect and analyse the data. The findings of the research indicate that the social construction of disability among the A n angu occurs in three historical phases: the impairment, oppression and empowerment phases. The paper's purpose is to offer service providers to Aboriginal people with disabilities, information that will help them understand some of the attitudes, customs, mores and beliefs of their clientele.     

Disability-Job Fit Stereotypes and the Evaluation of Persons with Disabilities at Work

The present paper describes a laboratory experiment in which raters evaluated the videotaped performance of ratees who did or did not have a disability. This disability was stereotypically either a poor fit with the job in question or not. The results indicated that actual appraisals were not influenced by stereotypes about fit or by disabilities, but that expectations concerning future performance and a number of other decisions and recommendations were influenced by this perceived fit. These results suggest that people do hold clear stereotypes about what types of disabilities lead to poor performance on a given job, and that these stereotypes are relied upon for certain personnel decisions, even in light of performance evidence that suggests that these stereotypes are invalid. Employees' disabilities may not influence supervisors' evaluations of their past performance when supervisors have clear objective performance information available. However, bias still exists in expectations for future performance and training recommendations. This bias can have severe long-term consequences on one's career within an organization. The scenario is worse when one's disability is stereotypically believed to be unsuitable to the job in question.     

Differential parental communication with adolescents who are disabled and their healthy siblings

Purpose: To examine the levels of parental communication and differential conversational styles with adolescents who are disabled and their healthy siblings, to better understand why the adolescent who is disabled has a higher risk of psychosocial problems during the transition into adulthood.

Methods: Families who had a disabled adolescent and at least one other adolescent who was not disabled were videorecorded during dinner at home. Twenty adolescents (12 girls and 8 boys) and their families participated. Analyses were conducted on the 392 interactions.

Results: Not only did the healthy adolescents participate in family interactions at higher frequencies than the adolescents who were disabled F(1, 383) = 14.00, p < .001, but the interactions were also more meaningful with healthy adolescents, F(2, 383) = 5.25, p < .01. Furthermore, healthy siblings had significantly greater conversational control than did their siblings with disabilities, χ² [1] = 14.36, p < .001. Parents responded more negatively when adolescents who were disabled initiated a topic in comparison with their response to the healthy siblings, F(2, 69) = 5.44, p < .01. Finally, adolescents with disabilities were ignored more often than their healthy siblings, z = −3.75, p < .001, and they did not monopolize the conversation as often as did their healthy siblings, z = −3.91, p < .001.

Conclusion: These results suggest that adolescents who are disabled may be at a disadvantage when engaged in family interactions in contrast with their healthy siblings.     

Sexual Knowledge,Experience and Feelings Among People with Disability

The current study was designed to evaluate the sexual knowledge, experience, feelings and needs of people with intellectual disability or physical disability, and compare them to people from the general population. Sixty people with mild intellectual disability (28 males, 32 females, mean age=27.62 years), 60 people with physical disability (33 males, 27 females, mean age=28.65 years) and 100 people from the general population (40 males, 60 females, mean age=30.10 years) participated in the study. Each respondent completed the Sexual Knowledge, Experience and Needs Scale (SexKen). This scale assesses levels of knowledge, experience, feelings and needs in 12 different areas of sexuality. The results demonstrated that people with intellectual disability experienced lower levels of sexual knowledge and experience, more negative attitudes to sex and stronger sexual needs than people with physical disability, in all areas of sexuality. People with physical disability demonstrated these same trends when they were compared to people from the general population. An interpretation of these results as they relate to the sexuality of people with intellectual or physical disability is provided.     

Neurological prognosis correlated with variations over time in the number of subependymal nodules in tuberous sclerosis

In tuberous sclerosis (TS), brain CT reveals subependymal nodules, cortical tubers and white matter lesions. This study is a retrospective analysis of the relationship between the variations over time in the number of subependymal nodules and the clinical course in cases of tuberous sclerosis. Twenty-four children with tuberous sclerosis, who attended the National Children's Hospital as outpatients, were followed by means of brain CT examinations for 7 years and 1 month on average. Cranial MRI was also performed in 22 cases. Brain CT disclosed subependymal nodules already in early infancy. In almost all cases, the number of subependymal nodules gradually increased with age, especially around the frontal horn of the lateral ventricle. The increase stopped at around age 10. The cases with five or more subependymal nodules at the initial or subsequent CT examination (17 patients; Group A) exhibited a significantly greater number of cortical tubers than those with less than five (five patients; Group B) and had white matter lesions unlike Group B. In addition, the number of cases with either infantile spasms or mental retardation was significantly higher in Group A than Group B (P<0.005). In conclusion, the number of ventricular subependymal nodules may allow prediction of the severity of the cerebral dysfunction in TS. Our results suggest that its variation may reflect the degree of the embryologic disorder when neuronal cells grow in the early gestational period.     

More than just a health issue: a review of current issues in the care of enterally-fed children living in the community

There are increasing numbers of children with a disability living in the community who require enteral tube feeds to optimize their nutritional status. Whilst there appears to be evidence of health gains, for some children there may also be serious and unintended social deprivations resulting from the need to be tube fed. This paper reviews the literature on support for children who are tube fed and makes a case for more coordinated and effective support services for families who are tube feeding a child at home. It is argued that national guidance should be developed which clarifies the position of all non-parent carers and staff who are willing to administer enteral tube feeds. Such guidance should also ensure that enterally-fed children have the same rights to educational and social services as other children and that families are given the opportunity to make informed decisions about the implications of enteral feeding prior to it being established.     

健康寿命年——一个新的测量疾病负担的指标

介绍一种新的测量疾病负担的指标——健康寿命率（ＨｅａＬＹ）。我们用此指标对１９９０～１９９３年北京ＭＯＮＩＣＡ资料进行了重新估算和分析,并将其与几年前ＷＨＯ和世界银行提出的另一个测量疾病负担的指标ＤＡＬＹ进行了比较。     

学习障碍儿筛检测试的应用研究

目的：为在我国开展学习障碍的研究提供筛查工具,对日本PRS在江苏省进行标准化研究。方法：采用PRS测试江苏省12市城乡5～15岁普通学校中小学生和幼儿园儿童6676名,进行标准化研究。结果：PRS项目测试具有较高的可靠性,言语性以及非言语性领域Cronbach’sa系数均大于093,全项目则达到096;因子分析则间接提示本次测试的有效性;各项目得分比日本样本更接近正态分布,各项目以及各领域得分均略高于日本。作为筛查学习障碍界值是合适的。结论：PRS在江苏省可用于筛俭学习能力障碍,需进一步加强应用研究。     

人眼眩光失能测定及其临床意义

目的:观察国产仪器测定眩光失能的性能与规律,并讨论其临床意义。方法:采用MGT—1多功能视觉眩光测试仪(海军医学研究所研制),按规定方法操作。测定正常人30名56眼(矫正视力全部≥1.0,晶体透明,无其他明显眼病),晶体混浊患者15人27眼。测定目标亮度及眩光亮度设置为中—中及弱—中两档分别模拟白天及夜间眩光失能。结果:中—中状态下,眩光失能值正常人均值为9.22%(全距0～31),低于晶体混浊者(24.05%,全距9～67),两者差异显著。正常眼在弱—中状态眩光失能值较中—中状态明显(均值20.12%,全距0～56)。不同频率条件对正常及晶体混浊眼眩光失能的影响不同,低频及中频较高频区的影响明显。结论:作为视功能评论指标,眩光失能检查是一种实用方法。在眼科临床及人体工效学上具有重要的意义。     

The functional restoration approach for chronic spinal disability

The functional restoration approach to treating chronic spinal disability consists of a medically directed, interdisciplinary team approach to physical reconditioning and a cognitive-behavioral crisis intervention procedure for dealing with related psychosocial problems. One- and two-year follow-up studies have demonstrated the clinical efficacy of this approach. The present article describes this approach and summarizes the research documenting its success in treating patients with chronic spinal disability. This article also highlights the pitfalls in misunderstanding and misrepresenting the components of the functional restoration approach when evaluating treatment efficacy.