Perceptions of disability of persons with cerebral palsy, their close relatives and able bodied persons

The insider-outsider view of disability is applied to the perception of problems associated with cerebral palsy. Twenty-five persons with cerebral palsy, 22 close relatives and 70 able bodied members of the public were asked to rate the severity of 48 problems likely to confront a cerebral palsied adult between the ages of 18 and 35 years. Results, analysed using the Kruskall-Wallis analysis of variance, provided support for predictions that persons with cerebral palsy would perceive problems as being less severe than would their relatives or able bodied persons. Two explanations are proferred for emerging differences: the greater optimism of the disabled sample can be interpreted as support for the 'insider' concept but could also reflect expectations and standards at variance with those of other groups sampled in the study. Qualified support was received for the third prediction that relatives would perceive problems as less severe than would able bodied persons. Relatives tended to emphasize problems associated with everyday management of the disability, restrictions in functioning and concern about the future, whilst 'outsiders' emphasized psychological problems and areas of personal interaction. The latter also seemed aware of their attitudes as a source of handicap for the disabled. It was concluded that greater interaction between disabled and able bodied people could bring into closer harmony their views of life with a distability. However evidence suggests that levels of contact between the two are still relatively low.