Open research questions in Disability Rights and Representation

What the literature leaves open

• collaboration among scholars, research centers, institutions, and countries is urgently required for building a comprehensive panoramic collaboration, - further research on DED in media representation is needed

  How does media discourse represent disability and education? Insights from past, present and future · 2026 · DOI

• The study identifies a gap in the understanding of the historical evolution of disability and rehabilitation in rural South Africa. It highlights the need for sustained investment and recognition of community-based services in rural and remote contexts. The study also notes the lack of systematic attention to disability within health services in rural South Africa.

  The history of disability and rehabilitation in rural South Africa: hidden rural disability and the power of collaboration · 2026 · DOI

• For rural and remote health systems, these findings underscore that equitable rehabilitation requires 33 literature and South African analyses that position CBR as an effective rural strategy when specialist services are scarce 24-26 .

  The history of disability and rehabilitation in rural South Africa: hidden rural disability and the power of collaboration · 2026 · DOI

• Several limitations should be noted, - This is the first study to explore actor-facilitators' experiences and perspectives of engaging young people with special educational needs in conversations about CSA

  Engaging young people with special educational needs in conversations about child sexual abuse: Experiences and perspectives from theatre-in-education actor-facilitators · 2026 · DOI

• The experiences and perspectives of actor-facilitators of TIE programs remain largely unexamined. There is a lack of understanding of how actor-facilitators create a safe space for conversations about CSA and navigate the system.

  Engaging young people with special educational needs in conversations about child sexual abuse: Experiences and perspectives from theatre-in-education actor-facilitators · 2026 · DOI

• The paper identifies the challenge of changing cultural and societal attitudes and perceptions about disabilities. The study highlights the limitation of relying on fragmented data and the lack of qualitative data. The paper notes the challenge of misconceptions about the separation of church and state and the need for active participation from local government agencies and private sectors.

  A Proposed Pastoral Response Challenging the Exclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) Within the Philippine Social Context · 2026 · DOI

• The impact of faith-based organizations may be limited, - Changes in cultural and societal areas require sustained efforts, - The study relies on fragmented data, - The study lacks the essential use of qualitative data

  A Proposed Pastoral Response Challenging the Exclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) Within the Philippine Social Context · 2026 · DOI

• Existing definitions of relative fundamentality do not provide satisfactory measures in certain cases. The possibility of transcendent entities is not accounted for in existing axiomatizations of grounding. There is a need for a new definition of relative fundamentality that addresses the limitations of existing ones.

  Accessibility and relative fundamentality · 2026 · DOI

• There is a gap in the existing literature regarding the experiences of transgender people in Pakistan. The study identifies a need to understand the associations between victimization, discrimination, basic needs, and social support with disability and general health among transgender and gender non-conforming people in Pakistan.

  Health and Disability Among Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People in Pakistan: The Role of Violence, Discrimination, Basic Needs and Social Support · 2026 · DOI

• The study identifies ethical challenges, particularly regarding intellectual disabilities. It highlights the need to distinguish between personal and sexual assistance. The paper notes the challenge of operationalizing sexual assistance in Portugal, including the need for decriminalization of sex work.

  Sexual Assistance for People with Disabilities: A Case Study in the Portuguese Context · 2026 · DOI

• The lack of formal sexual assistance in Portugal. The scarcity of research on sexual assistance for people with disabilities. The need for a framework that prioritizes pleasure, autonomy, and self-determination.

  Sexual Assistance for People with Disabilities: A Case Study in the Portuguese Context · 2026 · DOI

• The study faced challenges in recruiting participants due to the sensitive and emotive nature of the research topic. Practical barriers, such as lack of access to potential participants, also influenced recruitment. The study had to balance the need for thematic coherence with respect for the individuals' voices.

  Trust, trauma and the ‘postcode lottery’: Support for parents with a learning disability after their children are removed · 2026 · DOI

• The paper identifies a gap in understanding the support provided to parents with learning disabilities after child removal. It highlights the inconsistency in practice and the need for more tailored support. The study aims to address this gap by examining the experiences of parents with learning disabilities and the support they receive.

  Trust, trauma and the ‘postcode lottery’: Support for parents with a learning disability after their children are removed · 2026 · DOI

• Lack of support and relationship development at school, in the family, and in the community. Inadequate policies and services for children with disabilities. Insufficient school assistance and ineffective interaction between teachers and students with disabilities.

  Barriers to, and facilitators of, education for children with disabilities worldwide: a descriptive review · 2024 · DOI

• Further research is needed to address the lack of access to education for CWD, - Research should focus on the development of effective communication techniques between teachers and parents, - Studies should investigate the impact of assistive technology on the education of CWD

  Barriers to, and facilitators of, education for children with disabilities worldwide: a descriptive review · 2024 · DOI

• Despite growing attention to access aesthetics in disability studies, its development for non-verbal communication preferences, particularly for learning-disabled audiences, remains underexplored.

  A silent access aesthetics? Examining the elements of a non-verbal participatory performance through participants’ experiences · 2026 · DOI

• Those with multiple minoritised identities, such as along the axes of disability and gender, arguably encounter more complex forms of discrimination; however, little is known about their experiences.

  Navigating the Impact of Discrimination: Exploring the Experiences of Sex/Gender Minoritised Youth With Disabilities · 2025 · DOI

• BACKGROUND: Limited research in Ghana explores the emotional well-being of children with visual impairments (CwVIs).

  Reframing Darkness: An Exploration of Happiness Among Children With Visual Impairments in Ghana · 2025 · DOI

• CONCLUSION: Very few studies have been done to understand the needs and to develop relevant interventions for promoting the sexual health of young people with disabilities.

  Young people with disabilities and their sexual health: a descriptive review of needs, recommendations and interventions · 2025 · DOI

• Although individuals with intellectual disability need sex education, little is known about the instructional practices of sex educators.

  Understanding Appropriate and Applicable Sex Education Instruction for People With Intellectual Disability · 2024 · DOI

• The options currently available for community em­ ployment of workers with severe disabilities have seri­ ous limitations. Those options clearly applicable for community employment in one way or another assume or require that a worker reach some level of expected or "percentage of normal" work output. Those options clearly applicable to employment of workers who are unable to produce at established rates in one way or another encourage a degree of segregation and stigma- tization. However, it is also clear that creative utilization of currently available options by vocational service personnel can result in far more widespread use of integrated settings than is the case at present. In view of these realities, it is apparent that changes are required at both the level of service provision and public policy. The following recommendations are of­ fered in an attempt to accomplish three objectives: (a) to ensure a variety of employment mechanisms for workers, regardless of severity of disability or level of work output, to perform meaningful work; (b) to allow and provide for fully integrated, community-based work options; and (c) to ensure that workers who con­ tribute in any way to the productivity or economy of a company receive full and direct remuneration for their contribution.

  Payment Mechanisms for Community Employment: Realities and Recommendations · 1987 · DOI

• Because the results of the Spearman Rho correlations could be an artifact of the small size of the samples and the small size of the effect, both limitations of this study, we m u s t interpret the nonsignificant cor- relations with caution.

  Gender differences in cognitive abilities of learning-disabled females and males · 1987 · DOI

• The need for supported decision-making in research to make participation possible for people with cognitive disabilities without displacing their agency. The lack of conceptual clarity and workable institutional design in research ethics.

  David Wasserman and Supported Decision-Making in Research · 2026 · DOI

• Many researchers think co-research should happen more often and can be done better. One way of making co-research better is to give people with intellectual disability more chances to learn skills and take part in research.

  Becoming Co-researchers: People with Intellectual Disability Learning about Research · 2026 · DOI

• Compensation practices for people with intellectual disability contributing to co-research and research courses remain unexamined; research documenting fair payment models, benefits interaction effects, and incentive structures that support sustainable participation without penalizing welfare entitlements is needed.

  Becoming Co-researchers: People with Intellectual Disability Learning about Research · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Disability Rights and Representation

• The disability paradox: high quality of life against all odds · Social Science & Medicine · 1999 · 1,419 citations
• Maltreatment and disabilities: a population-based epidemiological study · Child Abuse & Neglect · 2000 · 862 citations
• Changing the Social Relations of Research Production? · Disability Handicap & Society · 1992 · 727 citations
• Misfits: A Feminist Materialist Disability Concept · Hypatia · 2011 · 642 citations
• The social model of disability: An outdated ideology? · Research in social science and disability · 2004 · 627 citations
• The Concept of Oppression and the Development of a Social Theory of Disability · Disability Handicap & Society · 1987 · 488 citations
• Feminist Disability Studies · Signs · 2005 · 441 citations
• Disability and Poverty in Developing Countries: A Multidimensional Study · World Development · 2012 · 431 citations
• Models of disablement, universalism and the international classification of impairments, disabilities and handicaps · Social Science & Medicine · 1999 · 408 citations
• Cultural Uniformity in Reaction to Physical Disabilities · American Sociological Review · 1961 · 367 citations

Most recent work

• Audience member perspectives on We Deserve to Work , a disability theatre project · Research and Practice in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities · 2026
• Wheelchair as a nexus: understanding stigma in older adults with stroke in China · Frontiers in Medicine · 2026
• Violence against children: An application of Multilevel Analysis of Individual Heterogeneity and Discriminatory Accuracy (MAIHDA) to the Crime Survey for England and Wales · Child Abuse & Neglect · 2026
• The effectiveness of using visible disabilities in brand ads: when and why it works · European Journal of Marketing · 2026
• Baptist church and empowerment of women and girls with disabilities in Mhondoro-Ngezi · African Journal of Disability · 2026
• Designing for Dignity: Aligning Policy and Technology for Inclusive Public Transport Systems Serving Commuters With Disabilities · International Social Science Journal · 2026
• What’s in a Label? On the Justification for Complete Participant Descriptions · Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities · 2026
• Apuntes contracapacitistas sobre el extractivismo epistémico hacia las comunidades y personas con discapacidades · Tabula rasa · 2026
• Enhancing Equity in Special Education Through Student Voice Research: A Commentary on the Special Issue · Remedial and Special Education · 2026
• Institutional betrayal and fugitive innovation: whistleblowing at the intersection of gender and disability in Ethiopian higher education · Discover Education · 2026

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