“My disability does not measure me: it is a way of living and being in the world” meanings of social inclusion from the perspective of people with visual impairment

Abstract

Social inclusion involves the dynamics that link the development of capacities with access to opportunities, well-being, relationship networks, and the exercise of citizenship. This study sought to understand the meanings on social inclusion of people with visual impairment from four cities in Colombia, as well as the family dynamics that favor or hinder inclusion processes. A qualitative exploratory study was conducted, by applying 26 semi-structured interviews via telephone. The interviews were transcribed and the themes extracted by the authors. The three emerging categories were the following: (1) My disability does not measure me: it is a way of living and being in the world; (2) deconstructing imaginaries: a wager on inclusion; and (3) from the family, the most important is letting be. Our results indicate that social inclusion is mediated by the meanings they assign to their own condition of visual impairment, by the existing social imaginaries on the theme, and by the family dynamics or the nearby environment. The work recognized the following as facilitators: acceptance of the disability by those who have the condition and by their close environment; recognition of the disability as part of human diversity; the family as actor that recognizes, respects individuality, and promotes their development; and the individual skills to cope with the situation and find a support network. Barriers were the negative imaginaries and the biomedical view that persist in society, which interact with the daily lives of the people, thus generating situations of exclusion.

Asistované prostredie pre nevidiacich : bývanie, pracovisko a počítač

“…Jedným z najdôležitejších cieľov neziskových organizácií a vedeckých aktivít zameraných na pomoc nevidiacim ľuďom je preto snaha o ich integráciu do spoločnosti, ktorá zahŕňa aj ich pracovné uplatnenie [154,155,156,167,168]. K tomuto cieľu smeruje aj využitie nových technológií a prístupov založených hlavne na výpočtovej technike a umelej inteligencii [175].…”

“…Ďalší praktický prínos súvisí so zvyšovaním samostatnosti nevidiacich pri bývaní v inteligentných budovách a ich správe. Ide o sociálne orientovaný prínos tohto výskumu [156,167,168], keďže je aj v tejto oblasti stále dominantnejší vývojový paradox DPUB -budovy sú vybavované sofistikovaným hardvérom a softvérom, ktorý ale nevidiacim neumožňuje obsluhu životne dôležitých zariadení, ako sú napr. vykurovanie, zónová regulácia, rekuperačné systémy.…”