Meaning of life of the differently abled: A qualitative study on the meaning making of the visually impaired

• Main Authors: Casino, Louise Anne, Guerrero, Marc Herbert, Ong, Krystel Nicole
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2012
• Subjects: People with mental disabilities > Philippines; People with visual disabilities > Philippines; Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/10855
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study is conducted to fully understand the meaning of life for differently abled persons, more specifically the visually impaired, by finding their meaning making ways through their experience and identity as expressed in language. Moreover, the episodic events in the life of the visually impaired will give direction in finding the meaning of life for that person. Criteria and Purposive sampling were used. The narrative approach was used as a framework for the research , following the McAdams approach which was used to identify and categorize the data gathered into tones (optimist and pessimist) and themes (agency and communion). The results suggest that the meaning of life of the visually impaired can be constructed through social relations defined by their experiences throughout their life. They have found confidence in their sense of self through the different episodic events with the assistance of their family, friends and peers. Moreover, the visually impaired as optimist and pessimist explains how they accept the disability, outlook in life and their life satisfaction, and as agentic and communal explains how they develop their meaning based on the social relationships they have.