Abstract
Becoming disabled may cause a considerable impact in someone’s life, because, in most of the cases, it happens under traumatic conditions and it results in subjective resignification and practical adaptations. The main objective of this study is to understand the psychosocial aspects involved in becoming disabled, considering several factors which may interfere these experiences. For this research, 13 people who got a physical disability, a hearing or visual impairment in adulthood were interviewed in a semi-structured way and the results were evaluated using the content analysis method of Bardin (2011). When the speeches of the interviewed people are evaluated, some comparisons and distinctions among experiences of the participants are made for establishing relations with academic-scientific literature on this theme. It was noticed that the psychosocial processes involved in becoming disabled were permeated by negative feelings related to anguish and depression, as well as more harmonic reactions and valorization of life, in which the loss of a member or of a sensorial capability is relativized. As a defining moment in the lives of those who acquired it, the disability may result in learning and maturating over the years after the event. It is recommended that the studies concerning disability, especially the acquired ones, get broadened and deepened because there is a need for more contributions about this subject.
Acquired disability; Subjectivity; Diversity