Contextualizing Disability Experiences

Scholars and advocates have long proposed that an individual’s impairment is not the source of disability, but instead it is social and physical barriers put in place by society that are disabling. The purpose of this chapter is to (1) provide an overview of how contextual factors are conceptualized and measured in the current literature; (2) describe the key findings and discuss what the current research tells us about the salience of the environment for individual disability experiences; and (3) identify critical gaps in the literature and discuss future recommendations. The chapter takes a place-based approach and focuses on the communities and neighborhoods in which people with disabilities live. The chapter also explores how the intersection of disability and other social identities is influenced by the environment. Finally, the chapter concludes by discussing existing gaps in the literature and recommendations for future research.