Perceptions of Disability
Understanding Occupation and
Ability in Antigua and Rural
Highland Guatemala
The Culture of Disability
Building upon pilot research conducted during the
2010 NAPA-OT Field School, this presentation
will address a relative understanding of
“disability” and how it affects the occupational
justice of those labeled as people with
disabilities.
• What roles do family and other close members assume
when caring for a person with a disability
• How does one perceive the disability they have and what
kind of narrative do they portray in their community
• What stigmas revolve around disability
• Western vs. Traditional healthcare
• Occupation and Independence
Methods
• Who?
– Ladinos
– Indigenous
– Foreign Contacts
• Instruments
– In Depth Interviews
– Focus Group Discussion
– Informal interviews
Ethical Considerations
• As an Anthropology Student
– My Introduction and Background
– Sense of Curiosity
– Relative Respectfulness
• Stigmatization of Disability
• Explanatory Models of Health and Disability
• Perceptiveness to Personal Identity
– Spanish as a Language Barrier
– Cultural Norms of Narratives
Theoretical Framework
• Disability and Infant Mortality Rate
– Jill Replogle and The Lancet Journal
• In 2000, World Rate of IM dropped 13%; 35% in
Latin America – WHO
• While Perinatal disorders claim ownership to the
highest percentage of IMR, it too is on the decline
– PAHO
• However, as these rates fall, more children survive
with disabilities – a cause for concern with lack of
education and resources
– Hermano Pedro
Source: Jill Replogle. “Guatemalan’s Disabled Children Face a Lifetime of Challenges”
Hermano Pedro
Photo courtesy of Erica Skogebo Edwards
Photo courtesy of Rachel Hall-Clifford
Transitions
Photos courtesy of Erica Skogebo Edwards
The Colonial, Ladino and
Indigenous World View
Photos courtesy of Rachel Hall-Clifford
Results
•
My Results are Divided into Four
Categories
1.
2.
3.
4.
•
Guatemalan Persons
Guatemalans with Disabilities
Foreign Persons
Foreigners with Disabilities*
Results Consist of Narratives, Interview
Responses and Observations of Physical
Behavior
Guatemalan Persons
• Care, Resources and Education
– Tecun Uman
– Aguas Calientes
– Street Map and Conversation
• Stigma via Labeling
– Insults
– Jokes
• Linguistic
– Empedidos
…With Disabilities
• Narratives
– Transitions
• Passive and Active
• Linguistic
– Minusvalidos vs Discapacidad
• Observation of Occupations
– Transitions
– Hermano Pedro
• Resources
– Municipal
– Law
Foreign Persons
• Stigma Through Communication
– The Case of Hermano Pedro’s Volunteers
• Stigma Through Classification
– La Limonada and Sister Kate
• Result from Volunteering
– OT’s and Hermano Pedro
…With Disabilities*
• Why the Asterisk?
• Conversations with Kara
– Narrative on both Self and Cultural Perception
of Physical State
• Conversations with Devva
– Strategy of Communication
Conclusion
•
•
•
•
Ability through disability
Social Networks
Voice in Government
Future Research Considerations