“…Detailed and systematic knowledge about the experience of disabilitywhat it is like to be disabled-is central to a deeper understanding of disability in social life (Herzlich, 1973). Research has only begun to accumulate that examines these experiences of people with multiple sclerosis (Davis, 1973;Stewart & Sullivan, 1982), rheumatoid arthritis (Locker, 1984), cystic fibrosis (Waddell, 1982), diabetes (Benoliel, 1975;Maines, 1983Maines, , 1984, heart disease (Cowie, 1976;Speedling, 1982), cancer (Bluebond-Langner, 1978;Comaroff & Maguire, 1981;Gyllenskold, 1982), of people who are deaf (Groce, 1984;Higgins, 1979), and of those with epilepsy and diverse other physical conditions (Fisher & Galler, 1986;Fitzpatrick, Hinton, Newmar, Scambler, & Thompson, 1984;Locker, 1981;Shearer, 1981;Thomas, 1982;Zola, 1982). Most of what professionals know about living with disability is a product of research done from perspectives outside this experience-research by able-bodied experts who often give priority to their scientific theories and research techniques rather than to the words and perceptions of the people they study.…”