The voices of Japanese and U.S. elementary-school aged children with disabilities

Navigating stigmatization within peer groups

Bibliographic Data

ID21724494
AuthorsMisa Kayama (0000-0002-7276-0733, Department of Social Work, University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA, corresponding author), Wendy Haight (0000-0002-8307-5360, University of Minnesota)
Year2025
Volume24
Issue1
Pages26-43
Publication date2025-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueQualitative Social Work (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1473-3250 • E-ISSN: 1741-3117
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14733250231214201
OpenAlexW4388591569
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited30

Children’s experience of disability-related stigmatization is a central social justice issue across cultures. Yet children’s voices are rarely heard by policy makers, and available programs for children with disabilities typically lack input from children’s own experiences. This paper presents a cross-cultural case study of how three children with disabilities in Japan and the U.S. responded to stigmatization from their “typically-developing” peers. We choose these cases for in-depth examination to contextualize and deepen our understanding of themes identified from our larger, ethnographic study. Similar to the participants in our larger study, these elementary school-aged children experienced disability-related stigmatization, including teasing and bullying. They actively responded to reduce their immediate exposure to stigmatization. Some of these responses, however, created additional challenges. For example, children’s physical fighting in response to teasing resulted in punitive discipline in the U.S. Children’s avoidance of peers undermined academic achievement and psychosocial development, especially in Japan where peer groups are central contexts for education. Furthermore, children’s responses to stigmatization often concealed their peer struggles or were misunderstood by educators, which delayed their access to appropriate support. We discuss social work implications for child-centered programs of support

Developmental psychology · Ethnography · Peer victimization · Poison control · Psychiatry · Psychosocial · Sociology · Suicide prevention · Education Discipline and Inequality · Family and Disability Support Research · Medicine · Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice

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