Thriving in confinement with functional diversity: The role of technology and autoethnography

Identifier:  TDX:4194

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX4194

Authors:  Hall, Karen Anne Esther

Abstract:
The objective of this study has been to give voice to people born with physical disability in examining their own experience of survival during the lockdown by outlining a variety of resources (psychological, economic, and technological) they used for working, communicating and building strength. The qualitative methodology used were based on the thematic analyses of commentors from YouTube video and internet sources during Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown and in my own autoethnography. Results show that people with disabilities even flourished in difficult situations if they understood their strength, when provided with right economical resources and when sufficiently skilled to use technological tools. The most prominent findings of this (personal) exploration refer to the benefits of technology as a peer support tool and the value of autoethnography for the building of individual resilience and agency.