Negotiating the social service systems: a vital yet frequently invisible occupation

Independent living and community participation are long-term rehabilitation goals. Disability scholars and activists have highlighted that access to social services is vital to the ability of people with disabilities to live and participate in the community as full and equal citizens. The field of occupational therapy has paid relatively little attention to how people with disabilities negotiate these systems. This article examines the vital but often invisible occupation of negotiating the social service systems using data from a 16-month ethnographic study of women with disabilities who were transitioning to independent living. Findings revealed that material, social, and attitudinal barriers in the service delivery systems restricted the women's access to resources and forced them to be highly resourceful to find, secure, and manage the social services they needed to maintain independent living. Theoretical and clinical implications for occupational therapy are discussed.