“Helping Others Makes Me Happy”: Social Interaction and Integration of People with Disabilities

Liu, P., Ding, X. and Gu, N. (2016) “Helping Others Makes Me Happy”: Social Interaction and Integration of People with Disabilities. In: 19th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing Companion (CSCW '16), San Francisco, CA, USA, 26 Feb - 02 Mar 2016, pp. 1596-1608. ISBN 9781450335928 (doi: 10.1145/2818048.2819998)

Abstract

This paper presents a qualitative study of people with disabilities, focusing on issues of their social interaction and integration. Through interviews and participatory observations with a group of people with motor disabilities in China, we found that their perceived limited capabilities to reciprocate, or feelings of indebtedness, were among the main reasons that kept them from interacting with others. The study shows that ICT and communities of people with disabilities are valuable in relieving these issues, in that they provide means and opportunities for them to give help and in turn develop self-esteem, crucial for their social interaction and integration. Our study suggests providing ways for them to give and not simply receive help as an important means to support their social interaction and integration-in particular, by focusing on their abilities and communities, instead of disabilities and independence.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Ding, Dr Sharon
• Authors: Liu, P., Ding, X., and Gu, N.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Computing Science
• ISBN: 9781450335928