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Experiences of Families Seeking Funding for Assistive Technologies for Children with Disabilities: Awareness of Legal Mandates

Efficacy of Assistive Technology Interventions

ISBN: 978-1-78441-642-3, eISBN: 978-1-78441-641-6

Publication date: 10 June 2015

Abstract

This chapter describes the results of an exploratory study that examined parents’ experiences with the law as they obtained funding for speech generating devices for their children with communication disabilities, either through public health insurance, private health insurance, or a public school. Exploring legal consciousness: Experiences of families seeking funding for assistive technologies for children with disabilities. Law, Policy, and Society Dissertations. Paper 17. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20000265). The study explored how parents engaged with the law and how their experiences and perceptions about the law compared to the formal law. This research was based on sociolegal theory, particularly the concept of legal consciousness, which examines how people think and act in relation to the law as a consequence of social interactions, and analyzes how law in action compares with the formal law. Sociolegal theory broadens the definition of law to include “the meanings, sources of authority, and cultural practices” (Ewick & Silbey, 1998, p. 22) as well as the formal law.

Similar to other sociolegal research, this study collected personal narratives of law using grounded theory methods to identify themes within those narratives. The narratives revealed that while parents expressed varieties of legal consciousness, there was one overarching theme: the law provided a framework for parents to envision rights, discuss rights, and claim rights. While few parents invoked formal legal mechanisms to solve grievances, the law created a rights consciousness among parents which empowered them to acknowledge and validate the notion of rights and entitlements.

Keywords

Citation

Frankoff, D.J. (2015), "Experiences of Families Seeking Funding for Assistive Technologies for Children with Disabilities: Awareness of Legal Mandates", Efficacy of Assistive Technology Interventions (Advances in Special Education Technology, Vol. 1), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 229-258. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2056-769320150000001009

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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