1036403

research-article2021
JVI0010.1177/02646196211036403British Journal of Visual ImpairmentOviedo-Cáceres et al.

BJVI
Research Article

British Journal of Visual Impairment

“My disability does not measure me:

1­–14
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/02646196211036403
https://doi.org/10.1177/02646196211036403
world” meanings of social inclusion journals.sagepub.com/home/jvi

from the perspective of people with

visual impairment

María del Pilar Oviedo-Cáceres

Karen Natalia Arias-Pineda
Universidad Santo Tomás, Colombia

María del Rosario Yepes-Camacho

Patricia Montoya Falla
Instituto Nacional para Ciegos (INCI), Colombia

Laura Guisasola Valencia

Universidad Politécnica de Catalunya, Spain

Abstract
Social inclusion involves the dynamics that link the development of capacities with access to
opportunities, well-being, relationship networks, and the exercise of citizenship. This study sought
to understand the meanings on social inclusion of people with visual impairment from four cities
in Colombia, as well as the family dynamics that favor or hinder inclusion processes. A qualitative
exploratory study was conducted, by applying 26 semi-structured interviews via telephone.
The interviews were transcribed and the themes extracted by the authors. The three emerging
categories were the following: (1) My disability does not measure me: it is a way of living and being
in the world; (2) deconstructing imaginaries: a wager on inclusion; and (3) from the family, the
most important is letting be. Our results indicate that social inclusion is mediated by the meanings
they assign to their own condition of visual impairment, by the existing social imaginaries on
the theme, and by the family dynamics or the nearby environment. The work recognized the
following as facilitators: acceptance of the disability by those who have the condition and by their
close environment; recognition of the disability as part of human diversity; the family as actor
that recognizes, respects individuality, and promotes their development; and the individual skills
to cope with the situation and find a support network. Barriers were the negative imaginaries and
the biomedical view that persist in society, which interact with the daily lives of the people, thus
generating situations of exclusion.

Corresponding author:
María del Pilar Oviedo-Cáceres, Universidad Santo Tomás, Carrera 27 No 180-395, Floridablanca, Santander,
Bucaramanga 681003, Colombia.
Email: maria.oviedo@ustabuca.edu.co
2 British Journal of Visual Impairment 00(0)

Keywords
Blindness, qualitative research, social inclusion, visual impairment

Introduction
According to the global disability report by the World Health Organization (WHO), 15% of the
global population has a disability, that is, nearly 1 billion people, of which close to 200 million experi-
ence considerable difficulties in their daily lives (Gómez-Aristizábal et al., 2015; WHO, 2011). It was
estimated that by 2020, 43 million people live with blindness and 295 million people experience
moderate to severe vision impairment, which is 3.74% of the global population, with 37.4 cases per
every 1000 people. For this same year, the Central American region reported 34 million people with
loss of vision; of these, 1.3 million were blind (Bourne et al., 2021). In Colombia, preliminary reports
by the 2018 population census register a national disability prevalence of 7.1% (3,065,361 people, of
which 1,784,372 report difficulties with levels of greater severity: severe or total disability), and dif-
ficulties of the type of not seeing up close, far, or around constitute 18.7%. According to these figures,
visual impairment could occupy the second place in frequency within the population with disability
in the country (Instituto Nacional para Ciegos, 2020).
Social inclusion has multiple meanings, but certainly goes through the dynamics that link the
development of capacities with access to opportunities throughout the vital cycle and, with such,
access to well-being, relationship networks, and exercise of citizenship; this implies access to
minimum of well-being and protection according to the society’s level of development. Social
inclusion does not always mean joining an educational or work context because participation in
these scenarios depends on the individual’s interest. For many, social inclusion is simply feeling
well and being part of being included; it is being happy (Ruiz & Moreno, 2005). However, people
with disability face moderately lower participation in significant activities and higher rates of
social isolation and are marginalized from the social, economic, cultural, and political aspects of
community life (Bulk et al., 2020).
In Colombia, it is reported that close to 82% of the people with disability is deprived of access
to basic and essential services, such as health, environmental sanitation, education, employment,
security, and justice, among others, but, above all, deprived of their identity as integral human
beings with rights and responsibilities (Velandia & Jaramillo, 2008). According to the analysis of
the data provided by the Register of People with Disability, it is identified that they are concen-
trated in the least favored socioeconomic levels, which evidences their reduced opportunity of
mobility in the social structure and, in turn, only 5% of the people in condition of disability reached
the secondary level of education (Hernández-Jaramillo & Hernández-Umaña, 2005).
Although it is recognized that in social inclusion the different actors and sectors of development
play a fundamental role (given that disability is more contextual than individual), it is necessary to
delve into comprehending the meanings assigned by individuals with visual impairment on social
inclusion and the repercussions that visual impairment acquires on the daily and subjective exist-
ence of the people (Venturiello & Venturiello, 2014). Our research group understands social inclu-
sion as the installation of opportunities and conditions to guarantee the exercise of human rights.
This work stems from the conviction that people with visual impairment, by the fact of being the
ones who have the condition, have useful and valuable knowledge that we cannot arrive at through
other means (Palomer et al., 2010); hence, this study sought to comprehend the meanings on social
inclusion of people with visual impairment in four cities of Colombia: Bogotá, Bucaramanga,
Piedecuesta, and Arauca, identifying proposals to advance, as well as the family dynamics that
favor or – on the contrary – hinder inclusion processes.
Oviedo-Cáceres et al. 3

Method
An exploratory-type qualitative, descriptive study was conducted (Creswell, 2014). Participants
were selected intentionally, using the special interviewee criteria (Martínez-Salgado, 2012),
defined as those located in a unique position in the community. To be considered in the research,
the participants needed to be of legal age and have low vision or blindness and reside in these geo-
graphic zones of the country, places prioritized by the Colombian National Institute for the Blind
for processes of accompaniment to organizations of people with visual impairment. The study used
the WHO categories to classify the severity of the visual impairments given in ICD-10R and ICD-
11 (International Classification of Diseases version 10R and 11), from ranges of visual acuity (VA):
Blindness is a VA worse than 3/60 (<20/400), and low vision is grouped under two categories,
namely, moderate and severe visual impairment [VA worse than 6/18 or 20/60 up to 3/60 or 20/400,
respectively]; R. R. A. Bourne et al., 2017; Vision Impairment and Blindness, n.d.; WHO – ICD-10
Online Versions, n.d.).
Data saturation was used as a criterion to define the number of participants. It is understood as
the moment when the interviews and the qualitative material stops providing new important data
as it begins to be repetitive. The research had 26 participants, 10 from the city of Bogotá, 3 from
Bucaramanga, 5 from Piedecuesta, and 8 from Arauca. The mean age of the participants was
40 years. The minimum age was 21 years and the maximum age was 68 years. Of all the partici-
pants, 53.9% are males (14 people). Table 1 shows the characteristics of the participants.
Given the condition of isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the telephone semi-structured
interview was used as a tool to gather information, which permitted addressing the experiences of
people with visual impairment. Those participating were contacted in person by the researchers
from the National Institute for the Blind, with prior authorization from the institutions. Each par-
ticipant was informed about the objectives of the research, the methodology used, and the results
expected from the study. Before conducting the interviews, three telematic group meetings were
held to socialize with the participants the intention of the research and the process proposed; this
permitted clearing their doubts and concerns.
Thereafter, the researchers (M.d.P.O.-C., K.N.A.-P., M.d.R.Y.-C., and P.M.F.) with experience
in qualitative research and working with people with visual impairment interviewed each partici-
pant. Each interview lasted an average of 1 hr; during the interviews, two researchers were always
present; while one directed the interview, the other one took notes and included key aspects for the
analysis. All the interviews were recorded in magnetic media through a telephone application and
then these were identified, bearing in mind the city by assigning each of them an identification
code. The interviews were posed to obtain information regarding three dimensions, such as percep-
tions and experiences of the individual with disability in relation to social inclusion, proposals to
advance in social inclusion, and family dynamics. The following questions were used to guide the
interviews: “What is social inclusion?” “What are the barriers that you have experienced to achieve
social inclusion?” and “What are the practices that can facilitate social inclusion?”
The research team has expertise in public health, psychology, disability, and visual impairment.
M.d.P.O.-C. is a PhD candidate in public health and has wide research experience in low vision and
blindness. K.N.A.-P. is a Social Communicator, has a master’s degree in social change, and experi-
ence working with visually impaired people. M.d.R.Y.-C. is an occupational therapist, with research
experience in visual impairment and social inclusion. P.M.F. is a psychologist with research experi-
ence in visual impairment and social inclusion. L.G.V. has PhD in biomedical sciences and has
experience in the analysis of social inequalities in visual health.
The analysis process used the methodological design from Taylor and Bogdan approach, who
proposed a method to analyze the information from the findings given in the interviews, so the
4 British Journal of Visual Impairment 00(0)

Table 1.  Characteristics of the participants.

ID Age Sex Place of Occupation Type of Cause of vision

residence disability loss
M1 24 M Arauca Artist (informal) and junkyard worker Low vision Congenital
M2 31 M Psychology student Blindness Acquired
Paralympic athlete
F1 37 F Attorney Low vision Acquired
Paralympic athlete
M3 49 M Pensioned Blindness Acquired
M4 30 M Athlete/Athletics Blindness Congenital
F2 59 F Social worker Low vision Congenital
F3 28 F Psychologist/independent Low vision Acquired
M5 56 M Pensioned Blindness Acquired
M6 42 M Bucaramanga Disability representative Blindness Congenital
Athlete
F4 27 F Chess player Blindness Acquired
Bachelor’s student in child pedagogy
Typhology professor
M7 57 M Network marketing Blindness Acquired
M8 21 M Piedecuesta Law student Low vision Congenital
Physical
disability
M9 35 M Inclusion professor Blindness Acquired
M10 24 M Social work student Blindness Congenital
High-performance soccer player
F5 23 F Technician in human resources Low vision Congenital
M11 31 M Works in the Secretary of Education Blindness Congenital
Typhlologist
F6 24 F Bogotá Musician-General services Blindness Congenital
F7 53 F Masseuse at home Low vision Acquired
F8 29 F Catalog sales Blindness Congenital
M12 67 M Pensioned magisterium Blindness Congenital
M13 38 M Musician, projects of social inclusion and Blindness Congenital
activism
F9 66 F Plastic artist Low vision Acquired
F10 68 F Pensioned. Visual Limited Sports League Blindness Acquired
F11 39 F Independent Blindness Acquired
M14 29 M Attorney Blindness Congenital
F12 40 F Social Communicator Low vision Acquired
University professor/Activist

work followed the process of discovery, coding, and relativization of data (Taylor, 1987). Data
analysis was performed concurrently with data collection, with emerging findings informing sub-
sequent data collection. The researchers independently coded the transcripts; the resulting codes
and categories were refined through ongoing team meetings to engage in collective reflection,
expanding the possibilities for coding. To support the analysis of the reports from the participants,
the atlas.ti software (v. 6.2) was used.
Oviedo-Cáceres et al. 5

Figure 1.  The three central categories with their respective subcategories.

All the people invited accepted to participate and then were requested their verbal informed
consent to conduct the semi-structured interviews. The study guaranteed ethical, anonymous, and
confidential management of the information and names of the participants. This research was sup-
ported by the ethics committee at Universidad Santo Tomás, Bucaramanga.

Findings
Three central categories emerged from the information analysis with their respective subcatego-
ries, which are shown in Figure 1. For those interviewed, social inclusion is mediated by the mean-
ings they assign to their own condition of visual impairment, by existing social imaginaries on the
theme, and by the family dynamics or the nearby environment.

My disability does not measure me: it is a way of living and being

in the world
The significance of visual impairment is an individual, personal issue that is in process of perma-
nent construction; hence, it is not static or single dimensional and interacts with the social, eco-
nomic, and family conditions of an individual. This significance is mediated by matters of age,
gender, and moment in which the disability appears, among others, and which is transformed in the
interaction with others and with themselves: “The disability is an opportunity that allows me to
find paths to fulfill purposes and dreams, but of course before it had to have been a burden, a dis-
grace, but today I have given it new meaning” (M7).
For some of those interviewed, the concept of disability is only a political category that permits
joining, in the Colombian case, more than 1 million people with different vision conditions, but
which – in turn – enter into tension with the individuality and peculiarity of the experience, given
that the subject is homogenized and blurred. Likewise, from the perspective of the people inter-
viewed, the significance assigned to their condition transcends the biomedical vision and, in that
sense, it is not understood as a clinical diagnosis, but which is assumed as a condition of human
diversity, which has facilitated their inclusion processes:

Feeling that it is not one’s problem, or a diagnosis; the defect is not what is relevant, but that barriers exist
because the disability is not in the person as such, the disability is in the surroundings and if you start from
that premise, well, things are different. (F12)
6 British Journal of Visual Impairment 00(0)

For those interviewed, their condition of disability has not impeded their personal development,
given that it is understood as a condition, a way of acting and being in the world, as many others
– even as an opportunity. It is identified that, for some of those interviewed, the meanings of dis-
ability are framed within the model of functional diversity (Palacios & Romañach, 2006), being
that it is understood that all human beings carry out their activities in different manner:

The word disability is more a political term than truly medical, if some people are born – as in my case –
with difficulty to walk, it does not mean I can’t get to certain places, it is that I need support to get there.
A conventional person climbs stairs perfectly by moving one foot and then the other, not me, even if I have
to do it sitting down, with support from another person, but I try to reach that part if there is no elevator.
(M8)

Furthermore, it is recognized that there are those who assume a posture of self-exclusion that
does not permit advancing in processes that promote their participation as subjects with rights in
society; even for some people interviewed, the barriers for inclusion start from the very subjects
with disability. These postures are related to the negative imaginary society has in relation with
disability: “When you are in situation of disability, the first thing they tell you in the street is poor
you and if you are not prepared you believe that story and start to fight with the entire world” (M6).

Social inclusion starts with acceptance

Social inclusion for those interviewed is a matter that starts with the process of accepting the condi-
tion of disability. There are those who manifest that for a society to assume a posture of inclusion
toward diversity, it is necessary for women and men with disability to first recognize their capaci-
ties and potentialities and, thus, they can advance in their self-perception as part of society: “Truth
starts by one’s acceptance; when you feel you are an active part and with contribution to society, I
think many doors will open. The problem is that we do not accept ourselves” (M7).
This acceptance process is mediated by each person’s individual characteristics that can some-
times become facilitators and/or barriers. Facilitators for inclusion identify the individual charac-
teristics together with the social, spiritual, and emotional skills of each person to face the challenges
implied by living with visual impairment:

Everything in life is the result with what one has inside the mind, if the conception one has with respect to
one’s life and it turns out that when one does not accept oneself, when one does not accept one’s reality,
then it is very difficult to start any process. (F3)

Some of those interviewed mention that to the extent that they are empowered of their own
condition and of their situation, those who are in their close environment start to interact differ-
ently; hence, for the participants, it is important to advance in the visibility of the difference through
social activism, participation in different social settings that permit having their voices heard,
which contributes to the transformation of the negative imaginaries existing about people with dis-
ability. “When they see you are empowered, owner of your situation, all that pitiful feeling begins
to change; when you gain that space, people learn to respect you” (F4).
For those who participated in this study, it is important to strengthen individual skills to have the
possibility of requesting support in cases required, without this implying an issue of invisibility of
their capacities and potentialities.
Accepting the disability leads individuals to assume using the walking stick as a tool that con-
tributes in their security, wandering, autonomy, and independence and which becomes an exten-
sion of touch. However, the people interviewed recognize that accepting to use the walking stick is
Oviedo-Cáceres et al. 7

a gradual process, given that at the beginning there is resistance, given that society has assigned a
symbolic weight to this object, associating it directly with feelings of pity and handicap:

As you start assuming your disability, you start having a better relationship with your walking stick. Only
after leaving school, did I manage to free myself from the pressure of my classmates and use the walking
stick every day, before that I would be embarrassed. (F4)

Moreover, barriers to accepting the disability issues are mentioned related to the imaginaries
they have about their own condition, given that for some it is a negative condition that generates
disadvantages in the interaction with society. Some participants have in their imaginary the per-
spective of being a burden or of requiring permanent support from their families or from the state:
“You feel you are a burden to society, you feel that now the state and others have a commitment
with you” (M13). This path of acceptance is not simple and each individual experiences it differ-
ently; however, the experience of episodes of depression, anger, and sadness is recognized as a
common aspect among a number of those interviewed.

Deconstructing the imaginaries: a wager for inclusion

For those interviewed, one of the principal barriers for inclusion has to do with the imaginaries that
exist in societies in relation to those in condition of disability. These imaginaries affect their daily
lives, in the interaction with other people, translated into difficulties for the experience, construction
and performance of their life projects, and, hence, the achievement of a dignified and happy life:
“Well, the first barrier one finds sometimes is people’s attitudes, perhaps their lack of knowledge, the
intransigence to be receptive to what one may ask or tell them or to see the situation” (F7).
It is identified that society still has deeply rooted in the social imaginary the biomedical model
of disability in which the subject is made invisible and blurred and the health condition is placed
first, thus promoting a direct relation among disability, disease, and handicap, which hinders over-
coming schemes linked to a history of beneficence and charity:

We would go give some conferences in a company and, suddenly, there would be an employee who would
take out some coins and tell us to take them to help us with transportation or something and we were the
ones giving the talks . . . it was absurd. (F12)

These issues increase further due to gender differentiation, given that from the perspective of those
interviewed, women with visual impairment are denied the roles traditionally considered feminine;
they are infantilized and limited: “Women with disability cannot care of themselves, they are denied
many activities, so there comes a point in which the woman with disability isn’t even a woman” (F12).
From the normalization, and retaking Foucault, the fact is highlighted that norms that regulate
existence are inscribed on the bodies; these are normative prescriptions in which the “normal” com-
plies the double function of indicating a statistical regularity (the majority case) and a moral prescrip-
tion (the good and adequate; the desirable); this obligates to homogeneity, canceling all that which
escapes the norm (Foucault, 1998); these matters are recognized by the study participants:

People with disability are a risk, they must be normalized, they are not productive, so they are a risk to
capitalism, they do not think. Regarding sexuality, infantilization is also seen, nobody can have desires, so
let’s sterilize it. In society there is the imaginary of normality, so they are abnormal and, thus they see us
and treat us all the time; let’s say they are imaginaries that are always contributing precisely to this social
exclusion. (F3)
8 British Journal of Visual Impairment 00(0)

In this sense, lack of knowledge is identified in the population in general about the disability and
the specific experiences of those with this condition of diversity. Thus, they recognize the importance
of undertaking informative, educational, and communicative processes that contribute to establishing
relations from respect, which – in turn – aid in transforming stereotypes or negative imaginaries,
which contribute in the mid and long terms to generating joint changes and not from the view of verti-
cal intervention that has been traditional with those having the condition of disability:

It is that people sometimes see us with pity or as gods, so it is because they really do not know that a person
with disability is a person. It’s that simple, it is neither less, nor more, it is the same. So, it is not to seeing
the disability, it is about seeing the person. (M9)

The imaginaries of disability play an important role in social inclusion in that social relations
are regulated by the beliefs, values, and symbolic systems made tangible in the culture. These go
beyond collective thought, since it is that from which they are constituted, represented, stated, and
done in a given society (Santacruz, 2013):

Well, I consider that sometimes they are cultural formations that are being transmitted, the poor thing, we
must pity him . . . So, I think they are participation jobs, to demonstrate capacities and potentialities that
contribute to the development of this country. I consider them stereotypes we have to break from with
education, with projects where they are supported and can show life experiences. (M2)

Although the imaginaries the participants identify are complex, we retake that proposed by
Cornelius Castoriadis, who indicates that the imaginary does not refer to the purely structural, to
immovable representations in societies, but that it is a creative capacity related to imagination,
which reveals the creative power of the human being, inasmuch as an imaginary is a real and com-
plex set of images (of what we are and desire) that appear to provoke different senses, senses that
occur, are instituted, and open the world (Agudelo, 2011). This wager for the deconstruction of
imaginaries is given from the need to recognize the difference, recognize human diversity and the
values it has in the construction of societies, transcending the principles of normalization applied
by the medical science to people with disability: “Inclusion is recognizing that we are all different
and that there is diversity that in accordance with it, there are specific needs” (F7).

“When we are capable of looking at others in their essence, we

will be capable of undertaking inclusion processes”
Those interviewed manifest the need to transcend those biomedical and medicalized visions to
approach the theme from the diversity, thus recognizing the potentialities of each being in the con-
struction of more inclusive societies. These aspects may be read from these wagers of Hegelian
philosophy in which recognition designates an ideal reciprocal relation among subjects, in which
each one sees the other as his equal and also as separate from itself:

I say we are magicians, we see the arm of the person who is missing it. . . we are always looking at the
defects and that brings us to cancelling all the potential the person has, and that is a bit of not recognizing
others in their essence. (M10)

From the paradigms of recognizing the solution to situations of injustice experienced by certain
population groups, there is the cultural or symbolic change and, hence, the positive valuation of
diversity. Lack of recognition or inadequate recognition can constitute forms of oppression, confin-
ing someone to a false, distorted, or diminished way of being. Beyond the simple lack of respect,
Oviedo-Cáceres et al. 9

this can inflict severe damage, by typecasting people into an overwhelming feeling of self-loath-
ing. Granting recognition is not a mere act of courtesy, but a vital human need (Fraser, 2000). These
matters are recognized in the accounts of those interviewed:

To open that door of inclusion, it is necessary to have education, a change of culture, for people to not have
those beliefs of pity, we do not want to be given things for free, just recognize our capacities and
potentialities. (F7)

According to Nancy Fraser, transforming solutions are currently associated with the deconstruc-
tion, which blurs the group differentiation – in this case, the terms in which difference is elaborated
by a visual condition, given that this permits counteracting the existing lack of respect, transform-
ing the underlying structure of cultural evaluation (Fraser, 2000, 2008): “A world that accepts the
difference, I say that when the person is capable of looking at another, in their expression, as a
person, inclusion processes begin” (M13).
For the participants, more than talking about social inclusion, what is required is a wager on
empathy, on that possibility of recognizing others, in their peculiarities, specificities, potentialities;
thus, we can progress in the construction of a society that is more respectful of differences. “We
must work from empathy because if it is a stranger, if there is no interest on the theme, no inclusion
processes will be produced effectively” (M13).

Social inclusion goes beyond a normative issue

Although the importance of normative initiatives for social inclusion is recognized, for the study
participants this is an issue lived daily, which is evidenced in each action and scenario in which
they live, and due to this, greater importance is given to those individual and collective attitudes
and practices from the nearby environment that construct social fabric, which, in this sense, con-
tributes to their inclusion. Public policies are recognized as important tools for the enforceability
of rights, but – also – critical aspects are identified in them, given that they homogenize the popu-
lation with disability, make the people invisible, and standardize some forms of acting upon a
collective with specific identities and, in some cases, what it promotes is exclusion: “Social inclu-
sion is a utopia, it is a search, it is not a theme solved in a classroom, in a class, in a norm. It is
something constructed at each instant, in the street, in the day to day” (F9). For those participating
in the interviews, social inclusion is a way of relating to another; however, it is recognized that it
is a long way to cover, even a utopia and which requires time, will, desire, and empathy.

From the family, the most important is letting be

The dynamics taking place within the families play an important role in social inclusion, which
become tangible in specific actions that can be facilitators or, on the contrary, barriers to develop
autonomy, independence, and self-determination of the people with visual impairment. “My
mother teaches me, guides me; she does not see my vision as a limitation, rather, she sees it as a
strength. They help me to continue forward and not get depressed by not doing things” (M14).
From this work, it is understood that families are nonhomogeneous realities; hence, they have
diverse behavior logics, such as change in its structure and onset of disabilities, among others
(Barboza et al., 2019). The family, as group organization that is part of a greater social network,
is a scenario in which become tangible the imaginaries of disability, which relate to the historical
reality and social context in which they have lived. In this sense, the significance the family
members have about the disability relates to the way relations are established among
10 British Journal of Visual Impairment 00(0)

its members. On one hand, if there is a biomedical or care view, the practices carried out are
overprotective or medicalized. “This was very hard; a very difficult situation, my family rejected
me. My father still does not accept it” (F11).
On the contrary, in those with a broader vision on the theme, or a system of beliefs or positive
perceptions about the disability (Knestrict & Kuchey, 2009), practices are identified that recognize
the person with disability as a subject of rights, with possibilities of constructing their own life
project and achieving their personal performance: “Fortunately, I have a family that respects the
disability, respects decisions, respects autonomy” (F12).
Those who make up the family have an important participation, given that they have created
conditions that permitted the first social inclusion to take place within the family’s private setting,
to then achieve it in the public scenario or from society. It must be mentioned that most of those
interviewed mention the mother figure as one of the most important referents. Experiences are
identified in which the families assumed positive practices and which today are recognized by
people with visual impairment as one of the key aspects for what they have achieved today in the
different dimensions of their personal, academic, and professional lives.
From the personal, it is identified that the family exerts an important function of motivating,
guiding, and supporting people with visual impairment against the daily challenges that arise, thus
permitting each person to take control over their own lives, their desires, feelings, and expecta-
tions. From the academic, the families were recognized as support to achieve the educational
objectives proposed, to overcome barriers generated within the educational context, and for the
constant updating of topics of interests.
Those interviewed state the importance of undertaking educational actions within their homes
in which basic aspects of disability and of mobility, among others, are socialized with each mem-
ber, given that these types of actions have permitted their empowerment and to position themselves
differently in their family relations: “You have to start by teaching the family, starting from themes
of terminology or themes of concepts regarding us. From what one is learning, from what one
investigates to implement it in one’s closest environment” (M6).
Thus, the families become – in turn – multipliers in the nearby settings, which favors the inter-
relation and conformation of social fabric beyond the family nucleus. In this sense, families con-
struct and consolidate social support networks, fundamental to open a range of possibilities for
social inclusion (Abad-Salgado, 2016): “Well, my family does everything possible for me to feel
accepted with my disability, so they look for a thousand ways for people to understand my situation
of visual impairment” (F11).
The participants interviewed recognize the importance of the accompaniment received from
those who make up the family nucleus in the active search for rehabilitation processes, particularly
during the initial phases of the condition, which has been evaluated as positive, given that due to
these services, today they have greater autonomy:

When I acquired the disability, I had my mother’s support; she never limited me, on the contrary, she
would tell me to go ahead, to go out on my own, to use the walking stick; even if I cracked my head, she
cried if I were not to listen, she would say try not to go through where you went yesterday. (F11)

Moreover, the participants recognize the description as an easily implemented practice that
favors their participation, socialization, and integration in daily activities:

My mother is the one who has the theme of inclusion most ingrained, when we are on the street and are
talking about something, she tries to describe it, my sister too. If we are in a park or something attracts their
attention, they say look, it’s like that; they try to describe it. (M11)
Oviedo-Cáceres et al. 11

In spite of the aforementioned, it is necessary to strengthen these processes not only within the
family nucleus but also with the surrounding environment to apprehend this practice and do it
routinely:

Not everyone describes things, so they are talking and sometimes talk about visual things and they do not
have that in mind and it is a situation that bothers. There are other moments in which they make gestures
or signals and one as a person with disability perceives them, however, they continue with the same plan.
(M10)

Although most of those interviewed recognize diverse positive aspects in their families, they
also report barriers for the visions the members have about the disability, about what is expected in
terms of the social functioning of a person with visual impairment, which is reflected in overpro-
tective and caring practices that have a negative impact: “Since my birth until 22 years of age, my
mother limited me too much, she overprotected me a lot, she did not teach me to face life, I did not
know about doing household chores” (F8). Regarding these types of circumstances, those inter-
viewed undertook actions, sometimes individually, through the support from other family mem-
bers or due to special situations that permitted their breaking away from that caring circle, thus
achieving substantial progress in their social inclusion.
Likewise, the study participants recognize the importance of engaging in processes of psycho-
logical intervention with the families to favor practices that permit empowering the people with
visual impairment. The participating group reports some difficulties in establishing their sentimen-
tal relationships and acceptance from the family of their partners with disability, which again
accounts for the imaginary that exists in society in relation to the condition of disability:

At first, it is quite complicated – the issue of the family accepting one’s partner due to ignorance, we
should say, lack of knowledge. The fact that they say, with so many people that can see in the world, you
hook up with a person that can’t see? But later, when they get to know you, acceptance is normal; they treat
you like any other person. (F6)

Although most of the participants have had positive experiences in relation to their families,
cases were identified of people who due to their condition of disability have been abandoned or
discriminated by individuals from their close environment, which accounts for the coexistence of
different social factors that come into dispute in disability:

My family abandoned me and that has been the most difficult thing, not having family support has been
the hardest and the most difficult to face. They said that now what were they going to do with me, that now
they had to carry me forever, that I was not going to be able to do anything. (F7)

Discussion
Social inclusion of people with disability, according to Nussbaum (2012), requires a new concep-
tion of society in which altruism and solidarity prevail, in which development is not evaluated by
economic production and in which it is recognized that justice is not about providing the same to
everyone equally, but about ensuring a social base that, bearing in mind the differences, offers
more to those who need more to construct a dignified life – aspects that are coherent with the per-
ceptions manifested by those interviewed, given that these repeatedly identified the need to value
and recognize differences, to deconstruct the imaginaries society has regarding people with disa-
bility, and to weave other forms of relating that permit a true inclusion in settings of daily life.
12 British Journal of Visual Impairment 00(0)

Social inclusion is a complex, multidimensional social category that is constructed from the
culture and the imaginaries societies have with respect to the theme. Without a doubt, there is a
long way to go in recognizing the diversity, the capacities, and potentialities of people with visual
impairment. The following are identified as facilitators to social inclusion: acceptance of the dis-
ability by those with the condition and by their close environment; recognition of the disability as
part of human diversity; the family as a player that identifies, respects the individuality of each
subject and, in that sense, promotes and accompanies their development; and the individual skills
to cope with the situation and find a support network during the different life stages. The impor-
tance of the family and social, emotional, and financial support, among others, has been reported
by Bassey and Ellison (2020), who mention that these aspects permit people with disability to
adapt to new circumstances and reconstruct their life project.
In addition, the negative imaginaries and the biomedical view that persist in society were found
as barriers; these constantly interact with the daily lives of people with disability, generating situ-
ations of exclusion and vulnerability reflected specifically in educational, work, and city scenarios
on issues like mobility. These aspects have been indicated by those who mention how the need to
normalize blindness or of legitimizing that they are still capable of doing things, perhaps more than
other people, reflect their negative experiences of being discredited because of their deviation from
the norm (Bulk et al., 2020).
Although this research recognizes the normative actions and, specifically, public policies as
important aspects in official terms to take steps in social inclusion, greater importance is identified
of actions that are carried out from day to day, in the exercise of citizenship, to contribute to the
construction of inclusive, fair, and less inequitable societies. Public policies must be made tangible
in daily life, given that no norm will be able to guarantee that which society does not grant, like
human rights, to people with disability. Hence, it is necessary to accompany the implementation of
public policies with strategies that contribute to modifying informal rules or the codes of conduct
that negatively impact social inclusion (Molina, 2017).
It necessary to address that proposed from these theories of recognition, which propose as solu-
tion to the situations of injustice experienced by population groups, cultural or symbolic change,
and, hence, the positive assessment of diversity. The lack of recognition or inadequate recognition
may constitute forms of oppression, confining someone in a way of being false, distorted, or dimin-
ished (Fraser, 2000).

Conclusion
The primary aim of this study was to understand the meanings of social inclusion for people with
visual impairment from four cities in Colombia, as well as the family dynamics that favor or hinder
inclusion processes. The following categories emerged: (1) My disability does not measure me: it
is a way of living and being in the world; (2) deconstructing imaginaries: a wager on inclusion; and
(3) from the family, the most important is letting be. Our results indicate that social inclusion is
mediated by the meanings people assign to their own condition of visual impairment, by the exist-
ing social imaginaries on this topic, and by the family dynamics or the nearby environment. The
following facilitators were identified: acceptance of the disability by those who have the condition
and by their close environment; recognition of the disability as part of human diversity; the family
as an actor that recognizes, respects individuality, and promotes their development; the individual
skills to cope with the situation and find a support network. Barriers were the negative imaginaries
and the biomedical perspective that persists in society, which interact with the daily lives of the
people, generating situations of exclusion.
Oviedo-Cáceres et al. 13

The research findings have diverse implications. From the community setting, it is necessary to
propose information, education, and communication actions that contribute to diminish the nega-
tive imaginaries society has regarding disability. Although the importance of normative actions is
recognized, we need to advance toward recognizing people with visual impairment as subjects of
rights, to guarantee equal opportunities for them and, hence, their social inclusion. It is key for
processes of rehabilitation and health care to include psychological accompaniment for the person
and the family nucleus because it permits advancing on accepting the condition as a fundamental
aspect to achieve social inclusion. It is important to resist the dominant narratives of disability as
an issue located within the individual and challenge the social and cultural factors that create and
perpetuate the inequalities lived by people with visual impairment.

Limitations
The condition of isolation due to the COVID-19 outbreak implied conducting interviews through
virtual media, which did not permit close interaction with the people interviewed. It is important to
broaden comprehension on the phenomenon, and participation from relatives in future research to
obtain their perspective and their role in the social inclusion of people with visual impairment.
Future studies could be proposed from an ethnographic vision to delve into the daily dynamics and
practices assumed that can favor and/or hinder social inclusion.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publi-
cation of this article.

Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publica-
tion of this article: The Project was co-funded by Colombia’s National Institute for the Blind and Universidad
Santo Tomás-Bucaramanga. Research project: Configuration of daily practices undertaken by people with
visual impairment, their families, and/or the nearby environment that permit identifying barriers and facilita-
tors for social inclusion.

ORCID iDs
María del Pilar Oviedo-Cáceres https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2576-8409
Laura Guisasola Valencia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8895-966X

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