Inclusion, exclusion and identity in the consumption of families living with childhood disability

Abstract

Many households include a family member with a disability. For these households, who consumes together, where they consume and when the consumption occurs often represent a complicated, nuanced set of tradeoffs. Based on in-depth interviews with families that include a child with a disability, we examine how a family makes an inclusion/exclusion decision and how the decision factors into the ongoing project of creating the family that is uniquely theirs. The analysis suggests that the decision-making is closely tied to the nature of the child's disability and that the type of disability is central to the family's narrative regarding its decision. Also, an important driver of the family's inclusion/exclusion decision is the process of self-stigmatization by non-disabled family members. The analysis shows that the implications of who in the family is included in the consumption, and the experience the family has as a result of the inclusion/exclusion decision reflect and reinforce the collective family's identity.

Keywords:

• family consumption
• disability
• children
• exclusion
• identity
• decision-making