Living with Brain Injury: Narrative, Community, and Women’s Renegotiation of Identity

Index

>> 239 Index Abby: biographical information, 32–33; centrality of her faith to her recovery, 199–200; desire to regain her speech, 86–87; dislike of another disabled student, 133; focus on regaining lost abilities, 86–87; on her cognitive difficulties not being recognized, 128–131; interview background, 131–132; interview setting, 42; relationship with her church post-injury, 134, 167–168, 196–199, 201 ADAPT, 117, 118, 119 AmericanswithDisabilitiesAct(ADA),2,119 anger: at being disabled, 92, 104; Cindy’s, over being objectified, 77–78; Dr. Larsen ’s frustration with the system, 53–54; Elise’s, that her injury occurred, 189, 190–191; Lydia’s, felt towards her life, 93, 183–184; Nancy’s faithfulness and, 193–196; Rose’s, at being misdiagnosed, 142–143, 144; Susan’s, over the inadequacies in her physical therapy, 68–69 anosagnosia, 66–67 Austerlitz, Dr.: about, 38–39; metaphysical framing of recovery, 207–209, 213–214 Beth: about assigning meaning to her injury, 175–177; biographical information , 36–37; on how much she “works” post-injury, 152–154; impact of expectations for herself, 62; interview setting, 42; positive aspects of her rehabilitation experience, 61–62; socio-economic status related to quality of help received, 62 biopsychosocial model of disability, 5 brain injury rehabilitation: anosagnosia and, 66–67; barriers from low expectations , 68–69; brain injury seen as a social condition, 53; difficulties inherent in the logistics of disability, 57; doctors’ inability to predict the extent of recovery, 67; fight against getting help, 106; framed as a problem of a relationship, 81; frustrations and complexities of, 80; impairment/disability distinction, 218–220; individual nature of brain injury, 218–219; lack of a universal experience regarding, 52–53; left-brain injuries, 200; managed care and (see managed care); outpatient support programs and, 55–56; Rehab Center and, 57, 69–70; right-brain injuries, 172, 207; stereotypes associated with speech difficulties, 69, 70, 71, 158, 161; variation in rehab experiences (see rehabilitation experiences) Brain Injury Today, 157, 159 Buddhism, 191 burden associated with disabilities: disability community’s help with, 169; economics of, 58, 117–118; other peoples’ needs and expectations and, 89, 206– 207; the pre-injury self and post-injury life, 84–85; sense of being a burden, 54, 108, 111, 116, 134 Bush, George H. W., 119 Cameron, C., 7 Catholicism, 189, 190, 191 Center for Independent Living, 56, 57, 103, 156 Chase, S. E., 49 Cindy: advice on focusing on turning points, 25–26; anger over being objectified, 77–78; background to her injuries, 10–11; 240 > 241 in a patient’s connection to, 104, 108, 168–169, 220. See also community disabled women’s community: Cindy’s involvement, 137–139; feminist analysis of volunteerism and caretaking, 139–140, 150–151; implied hierarchies in, 148; importance of to Elise, 140–141; work in disability services by women, 156. See also community distinctions between people with disabilities : caste system within the community , 160–161; claiming a disability identity or not, 164–166; cognitive versus physical disabilities, 161–163; developmental versus acquired disabilities , 132–133, 160; Elise’s experiences with not appearing disabled, 127–128, 163–164; Lydia’s frustration over her speech issues, 69–70 doctors. See health care professionals Doctors Hospital, 40 DORS (Department of Rehabilitation Services), 142 Elise: biographical information, 35; crisis of faith after her injury, 189–191; disabled women’s community and, 140–141; embracing of Buddhism, 191; experiences with not appearing disabled, 127–128, 163–164; frustration at not living up to unrealistic expectations, 65–66; interview setting, 42; loss of her connection to Catholicism, 190–191; problem with getting acknowledged by the professionals, 65; realization that she had a TBI, 125–126; shaping of her identification with disability rights, 126–128 fight in recovery and rehabilitation: Cindy’s experiences (see Cindy’s fight for services); climate of competition in, 133; “cognitive differences” versus “mental defect,” 132–133; concept of waiting and, 91, 115, 117, 118, 122; disability’s shift to a relational concern, 98–99; employment discrimination and, 123–125; forcing of people to advocate for themselves, 117–118; identity complexities when the disability isn’t visible, 127–130, 132–133, 163–164; longevity of the struggle for rights, 118–119; Lydia’s frustration over her speech issues, 69–70; Nancy’s experience, 119–122, 125; nature of the fight, 98, 134–136; personal fights made into community fights, 110–111, 116; requirement of a labeled diagnosis, 126; resisting the shame imposed by others, 9–10; role of...