Generational Perspectives on the Dialectic between Gerontology and Disability Studies.

• In Event: 418 - Section on Aging and the Life Course Paper Session. Disability over the Life Course

Abstract

This paper considers alternative perspectives on late life disability arising from orientations of gerontology and those of disability studies. The onset of disability in late life offers elderly persons a very different life course experience from that experienced by individuals with congenital or early onset core disabilities. We review alternative disablement paradigms of the disability cascade, sick role and related medical models and the ecological model. Major contributions of gerontological orientations to disability studies are discussed including: (1) Rights to opt out of a disability identity; (2) The value of individual coping strategies to deal with impairments; (3) Appreciating intra-individual and inter-individual differences in late life disability trajectories; (4) Benefits of reliance on informal care-givers favored by elderly persons with disabilities. We highlight alternative assumptions, conceptualizations and research traditions of gerontological research and research in disability studies. We conclude by noting policy implications of greater integration of gerontological and disability studies perspectives.

Authors

• Eva Kahana, Case Western Reserve University

• Jeffrey Steven Kahana, Mount Saint Mary College