Wright, B. A. (1983). Physical Disability: A Psychosocial Approach (2nd ed., p. 25). Harper & Row. 

Physical Disability: A psychosocial approach

Employers often hold stigmatizing attitudes regarding physical disabilities and people’s ability to perform in the workplace. PWD typically face uncertainty, lowered self-confidence, and nervousness regarding interviews due to these attitudes. This often leads to PWD not applying for jobs despite possessing the qualifications. 

Attitudes of Employers on physical disabilities 

Spread Phenomenon refers to when people without disabilities assume that a PWD also has a lower IQ (Wright, 1983)

Gettysburg College

People with Visible and Invisible disabilities face differerent stigmas within the employment space that impact ability to obtain, maintain, and perform in jobs due to these stigmas. These stigmas vary across disabilities and personal experiences and impact each employee differently within the employment space, however research has found various overlaps across diagnoses and experiences. 

Employment and Stigma around Visible and Invisible Disabilities

Stigmas specific to those with visible disabilities
- spread phenomenon
- aesthetic-sexual aversion

Visible Disabilities and Employment Stigma

Aesthetic-Sexual Aversion refers to the societal opinion on if a person is “visually pleasing” or not.

Aesthetic-Sexual Aversion

Spread Phenomenon

People with invisible disabilities often feel that there is a challenge to prove they have a disability. It is suggested that individuals need to defend their diagnoses and prove that it exists. 

Learn Before

Related

Learn After