Motive for research: This is a thesis primarily for those with Cerebral Palsy (CP) and it can be situated amongst an academic debate which has left a significant number of disabled people’s voices outside of discussions around impairment and disability.
Research aims: This thesis introduced these unheard voices and in doing so explored adulthood experiences of ‘mild’ CP, including how mild diagnoses are constituted and possibly contested in medical, social and personal spheres. A focus on mild is important when exploring the experiences of those with CP given that ‘mild’ is in common usage and yet its meaning or value is not entirely obvious.
Methods: This research drew on a narrative methodology, producing 24 loosely structured, online interviews. The interviews, though led by my participants, were approached with a topic guide allowing for analysis across narratives. My methodological choices were influenced by my positionality as a researcher with the same condition as those I spoke to. Mild was left as a self-defined term meaning conversations were not fixed around a singular understanding of CP.
Findings: The three findings chapters are: 1. The value of mild, seeing mild as a fluid identity, sat within a discourse of luck and comparison . 2. The strategic use of mild, including discussions of mild as an embodied experience. 3. The realities of living with mild CP, supporting the idea of mild as ambiguous and creating liminal bodies as they negotiate an imagined future ageing with a lifelong, ‘non-progressive mild condition.
Discussion/ conclusions: My discussion understands the value of mild within the spectrum of disability, and in turn how these fit within the prevalent normative environments. The research aims to recognise the fluid nature of mild impairment and social disablement, using my participant narratives to be a starting point to rewrite expectations around ageing with CP.
