En/countering disablement in school life in Australia: children talk about peer relations and living with illness and disability

TL;DR: The authors report the experiential accounts of 24 young people with physical disability or chronic illness as they make the transition to junior high school, with a particular focus on their social experiences with peers and friends.

Abstract: This paper reports the experiential accounts of 24 young people with physical disability or chronic illness as they make the transition to junior high school, with a particular focus on their social experiences with peers and friends. Children’s reports were examined in a reflexive, disability studies framework, in which commonalities and difference in experience were examined. These reports highlight a common experience of disability-related harassment and differential experiences of friendship, peer rejection and school culture. While children encounter and actively counter disablement in a variety of ways, it is clear that these children are also cognisant of the stigma, prejudices and disabling expectations that are at the core of these experiences.