Life history model of adaptation to disability: The case of a 'congenital amputee'

Gelya Frank

Social Science & Medicine, 1984, vol. 19, issue 6, 639-645

Abstract: Life histories can be used to describe (1) adaptation over time to disabling conditions and (2) the context and meaning of disabilities. Data from the life history of Diane DeVries, a 33-year old woman born with quadralateral limb deficiencies (upper extremity hemimelia, lower extremity amelia) illustrate a model for eliciting, presenting and interpreting life histories of persons with disabilities. Substantively, the life history of Diane DeVries indicates, at this time, survival within a niche of institutional supports that include marriage, church membership, and government for the disabled. Her life history is also characterized by choices that support independent living in the community and a cognitive orientation toward her own cultural normality.

Date: 1984
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