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"Nobody's just normal, you know": The social creation of developmental disability

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  • Leiter, Valerie

Abstract

This paper examines the process through which early childhood developmental disability is socially created within a US public program called Early Intervention (EI). In doing so, the paper analyses and links the social creation of early childhood disability as a category at both the macro-level level and at the micro-level. The analysis is based on qualitative interview data from 31 parents and 19 professions involved in EI programs in Massachusetts. At the macro-level, the paper addresses how federal legislation and state regulations establish the boundary between normalcy and disability. At the micro-level, it analyses adults' social creation of developmental disability, measured as impairment. The paper also investigates the impairment categories that are produced by these processes, exposing the kinds of early childhood developmental delays that have been legislated as worthy of public intervention and discusses some implications of the disability determination process.

Suggested Citation

  • Leiter, Valerie, 2007. ""Nobody's just normal, you know": The social creation of developmental disability," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(8), pages 1630-1641, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:65:y:2007:i:8:p:1630-1641
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Leiter, Valerie, 2004. "Dilemmas in sharing care: maternal provision of professionally driven therapy for children with disabilities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 58(4), pages 837-849, February.
    2. Green, Sara E., 2003. ""What do you mean 'what's wrong with her?'": stigma and the lives of families of children with disabilities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(8), pages 1361-1374, October.
    3. Landsman, Gail H., 2006. "What evidence, whose evidence?: Physical therapy in New York State's clinical practice guideline and in the lives of mothers of disabled children," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(11), pages 2670-2680, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Regier, Dean A. & Ryan, Mandy & Phimister, Euan & Marra, Carlo A., 2009. "Bayesian and classical estimation of mixed logit: An application to genetic testing," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 598-610, May.
    2. Jee-Eun Lim, 2020. "Understanding the Discrimination Experienced by Customers with Disabilities in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry: The Case of Seoul in South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-12, September.
    3. Manago, Bianca & Davis, Jenny L. & Goar, Carla, 2017. "Discourse in Action: Parents’ use of medical and social models to resist disability stigma," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 169-177.

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