Exploring Visual Impairment from the Perspective of Visually Impaired Adolescents

This study explored the experience of disability as recounted by school aged, visually impaired adolescents. The primary aim was to explore the manner in which these adolescents thought about, understood and coped with their disability. A second aim explored the extent to which participants’ experiences mirrored those reported in the literature. The design of the study was qualitative with an orientation toward social constructionism. Nine partially sighted and seven blind adolescents comprised the two cohorts of participants who participated in the study. One of the most notable findings supported the argument that disability is a socially constructed phenomenon. Some insights, drawn from psychoanalysis, were also found to be useful. Other findings, a critique of the study, and suggestions for future research are also provided. One of the most important of these involves evaluating the negative and positive consequences of inclusive education.