Meaning Of A Disability: The Lived Experience of Paralysis [Hardcover]

Albert Robillard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 26, 1999

With his loss of speech, Robillard was forced to communicate through a lip-reading system developed by his wife and student assistants. Restricted by this form of communication and his paralysis, he soon learned the frustrations of making his meaning known. Hospital nurses wrongly anticipated his words. Those who translated for him inevitably distorted his meaning. Most of all, the casual pace of conversational give-and-take was disrupted. Old friends would leave before Robillard could provide the expected interactional response. Finding himself isolated due to his lack of both mobility and vocalization, Robillard threw himself into his academic work and began to develop settings and methods where he could satisfactorily interact with others. A researcher and writer experienced in describing the bodily and verbal methods used to coordinate and construct the most ordinary of social forms, Robillard joins in this book both his years of sociological training and his time with illness to talk with moving and illuminating analysis about a broad range of matters. Moving gracefully from examinations of narratives about disability and illness, the stigmatizing things that healthcare providers unwittingly say to their patients, and communication problems in the intensive care unit, to more personal reflections on anger, isolation, and stories of tragedy, Robillard also discusses disability in the workplace and such seemingly simple topics as computers and vacations. "Meaning of a Disability" is the personal story of a highly trained observer forced to confront simultaneously the limits of the disabled person's social world and the unspoken assumptions about meaningful interaction as he struggles with the daily difficulties of maintaining his identity. "Meaning of a Disability" will interest a wide audience including healthcare professionals, disabled people, and caretakers as well as academics studying ethnomethodology, health and illness, conversation, symbolic interaction, storytelling, and most aspects of lived experience. Albert B. Robillard is Professor of Sociology and Pacific Island Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and author of "Social Change in the Pacific Islands".

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Robillard is a sociology professor and ethnomethodologist. Paralyzed as a result of motor-neuron disease, he explores his daily life from an ethnomethodological perspective. The chapter titles are indicative of the topics addressed: "You Are Lucky Your Wife Stuck with You," "Communicating in Intensive Care," "Anger," "Isolation," and "Can He Think?" Robillard analyzes typical activities, such as communication, that are usually taken for granted, and discusses in detail the system by which graduate assistants and family members read his lips. In spite of this method, he is often excluded from conversations because the few people who can translate for him may be unavailable or are reluctant to translate. Healthcare professionals also routinely exclude him from input about his own care. Robillard's anger at these exclusions is palpable, as is his indignation at the "common culture of disability"Athe tendency of society to belittle people with disabilities based on a set of culturally engrained misconceptions. Although written as a personal narrative, this work includes numerous references to the scholarly literature of ethnomethodology, communication, and disability. Recommended primarily for sociology, anthropology, and disability studies collections in academic libraries; health professionals might also benefit from the patient perspective offered in the book.AXimena Chrisagis, Wright State Univ. Libs., Dayton, OH
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"[Robillard] writes with great preciseness and accuracy... This book should be read by those working with people with disabilities, those teaching in the area of Disability Studies, and by people with disabilities." --Disability Studies Quarterly

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 191 pages
• Publisher: Temple University Press; 1 edition (April 26, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566396751
• ISBN-13: 978-1566396752
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,978,509 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Looking from the inside., June 5, 2000

By 

R.F. Robillard - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meaning Of A Disability: The Lived Experience of Paralysis (Paperback)

Yes, I'm the Author's brother.

We too (his family) have lived the experience of paralysis with him.

I think it is much easier for us to understand the emotions - the anger, frustration, sense of loss - that he discusses in the book.

An enormous portion of the credit for his lengthy survival with this terrible ailment is due to his wife, Divina. However, his tremendous will to live despite the loss of his most loved abilities - speech and delicious foods - must also receive a full share of credit.

His quest for knowledge and the desire to disseminate that knowledge has never weakened.

My brother is an incredible man!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Symposium in Body & Society, 6(2),August 2000, October 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Meaning Of A Disability: The Lived Experience of Paralysis (Paperback)

Following is a list of the authors who contributed articles to the recently published symposium on Meaning of a Disability:

Janet E. Price, Default for Journals, UK 87 Arthur W. Frank, Default for Journals, UK 95 John O'Neill, Default for Journals, UK 101 Gerald Gold, Default for Journals, UK