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A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of - Etheses - Queen Margaret ...

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100<br />

they feel nervous to ask “Well, what did you do yesterday?”… (l.1.865ff.)<br />

In Sur<strong>in</strong>der‟s view it is not just <strong>in</strong> social life that disabled people are made to feel<br />

unwelcome, but with<strong>in</strong> the family as well:<br />

One <strong>of</strong> my family members has said to me “Do you have to use that walk<strong>in</strong>g<br />

stick? Do you have to…?” …you know, they felt a sense <strong>of</strong> shame… they couldn‟t<br />

acknowledge that this person related to them has a disability now… do you deal with<br />

your disability or do you deal with the emotions <strong>of</strong> other people who are directly<br />

related to you and… with Joe Bloggs out <strong>in</strong> the street, out <strong>in</strong> the community…<br />

(l.1.409ff.)<br />

In other situations the subject is carefully evaded or, if acknowledged, quickly brushed<br />

over. Rose states that<br />

(My friends) don‟t have an understand<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> the situation that I‟m <strong>in</strong>… they are not<br />

comfortable ask<strong>in</strong>g… you know, if I don‟t mention it, then they don‟t mention it…<br />

they‟re not really comfortable ask<strong>in</strong>g… one or two <strong>of</strong> them will say “Are you still<br />

walk<strong>in</strong>g?” or whatever… whatever it happens to be, and it‟s like, if you say “Yes,”<br />

it‟s… oh, okay, so everyth<strong>in</strong>g‟s f<strong>in</strong>e, and it‟s not… because you‟re try<strong>in</strong>g to<br />

overcome terrible difficulties all the time… (l.1.631ff.)<br />

Sarah expresses the sense that disabled people are not expected to talk about their<br />

experiences for fear <strong>of</strong> troubl<strong>in</strong>g those around them:<br />

I‟d felt like I had to stay quiet and not say what I felt… because it would upset<br />

people, it would upset my mum and dad… it would upset… people out there who<br />

don‟t understand… and just look at us and th<strong>in</strong>k that you‟re disabled… (l.1.945ff.)<br />

The knowledge <strong>of</strong> hurt experienced by disabled sons and daughters can be difficult for<br />

parents to take on board, especially if there is little they can see to do about this. Swa<strong>in</strong> and<br />

French (1998) have talked about the difficulties <strong>of</strong> family relationships <strong>of</strong> care when there is<br />

perceived no way <strong>of</strong> understand<strong>in</strong>g disability other than as physical limitation to be endured<br />

and overcome. Sarah‟s strategy for deal<strong>in</strong>g with this was protective: by not talk<strong>in</strong>g about her<br />

feel<strong>in</strong>gs she aimed to protect her parents from the upset that knowledge <strong>of</strong> her experience<br />

would br<strong>in</strong>g.

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