Disability As A Social Construct

Download or read book The Social Construction of Intellectual Disability written by Mark Rapley and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2004-06-10 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Intellectual disability is usually thought of as a form of internal, individual affliction, little different from diabetes, paralysis or chronic illness. This study, the first book-length application of discursive psychology to intellectual disability, shows that what we usually understand as being an individual problem is actually an interactional, or social, product. Through a range of case studies, which draw upon ethnomethodological and conversation analytic scholarship, the book shows how persons categorized as 'intellectually disabled' are produced, as such, in and through their moment-by-moment interaction with care staff and other professionals.