It’s graduation time. When I look back at these last three years of following the Disability Studies course at the University, I feel I have achieved so much. But this achievement is not just in academic matters but also in my personal growth and my way of thinking.
My journey within the disability field started long before this Master’s course. As a child, I used to pay frequent visits to a residential home for disabled people. At that time, I was like a spectator from a distance, in an environment where disabled persons were perceived as ‘angels’.
In my adolescent years, I wanted to move away from being the passive onlooker. I started offering my time and energy in charity events but presenting disabled people as objects of charity did little to improve their lives. Fourteen years ago, I started working with disabled people and this was key to changing my views on disability.
I began challenging the paternalistic environment as I was learning that these people have feelings, thoughts and aspirations. For the first time, I attempted to make their voice heard within their own home, even though I was unaware that this was part of the emancipatory framework that disabled people were fighting for at the time.
Entering into physiotherapy had a huge impact on my insights into disability.
As healthcare professionals, we always empower clients to achieve their maximal potential but disabled people frequently criticise us that this is done on behalf of the dominant ideology of normality. Despite this element of friction, from my early days of practice, I perceived the client as being the expert knower and promoted the view that healthcare professionals can be enablers in the lives of disabled people.
Eventually, I found myself applying for the Master’s degree in Disability Studies. Coming from the medical sphere, I admit that initially I felt out of place because I came to realise that healthcare professionals are not always perceived by disabled people as their ideal allies.
The first year of studies was a continuous battle to examine my preconceptions of disability and to bring forward what I believed in, even if it was not compliant with the dominant discourse.
I began challenging the paternalistic environment as I was learning that these people have feelings, thoughts and aspirations
As I read narratives, I became aware that disabled people are showing initiative in representing themselves, proving that they have valuable lives and that they have a significant position within society.
I was also identifying myself with different aspects of the narratives. I could see myself when authors talked about youth and relationships and could appreciate their opinions about the healthcare system since I work within it. All of these connections helped me to get more familiar with the person’s experiences, much more than if I read an abstract discussion.
This course also led me to a life-changing project: my dissertation. Getting myself to reading phenomenology and blending it with emancipatory principles was a great accomplishment. Exploring the lived experiences of youth who acquired a physical impairment revealed how life is one huge rollercoaster ride with significant life events within and that the expert knower is no one but the person experiencing the phenomenon
Where do I stand after all this? I am at crossroads with regard to my career pathways. I still have many unanswered questions and even more unexplored areas and I still know little about the field. Yet, my focus is clear: it is solely directed towards the needs of disabled people. And, thus, my search continues for new knowledge from disabled individuals themselves. Only this can enrich my understanding and make me a better collaborator with disabled persons.
Maria Cynthia deBono recently graduated with the first group of MA Disability Studies students from the University of Malta.