AMANDA HYNAN FINAL THESIS PDF

for self-determination is an important aspect. Ritchie and Blanck (2003) discuss the
role of the internet to support people with physical disabilities who live within
Centers for Independent Living (CILs) to access information on a range of subjects
and access consumer services. One of their conclusions was,
“accessible technology for persons with disabilities has the potential to
enhance independence in life. Its future development holds promise for a wide
range of persons with disabilities, including those with communication
disabilities who use symbol language” (p. 24)
Self-determination may be widely hailed across the disability field as desirable but
has also received concerned criticism within critical disability discourses. The desire
expressed by people with disabilities to author their own experiences is clear but as
Maskos (2006) argues absolute self-determination is problematic. Steiner (1999) says
“Self-determination is never an all-or-nothing principle or even a synonym for
self-realization. Self-determination is, to choose one way … in the absence of
institutional constraints and patronizing professionalism” (online, no page
number)
This sentiment is echoed by Petersen (2009) who found when self-determination was
“articulated as a particular set of skills to be acquired…the democratic intent of selfdetermination
was undermined” (abstract).
Williams and Merten (2008) point out in a discussion about adolescent perceptions of
internet communication,
“symbolic interactionists would argue that blogging is as meaningful to adolescents
as they believe it to be and plays as large a role in their life as they allow” (p.255).
Soderstrom (2011) demonstrated how self-determination is best judged from an
individual’s perspective in her study of the perceptions of the mobile phone’s
significance in the lives of mobility disabled and non-disabled adolescents in Norway.
She suggests the conceptualisation of the mobile phone is different for each group.
For non-disabled adolescents the mobile phone is essentially a social mediator;
however for the young people with mobility challenges, the vital characteristic of the
mobile phone was as a safety net with which to summon help in case of mobility
accidents. Rackensberger, a young woman who uses AAC to support living
independently, says
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