Com base numa análise da legislação publicada em Portugal nas últimas três décadas referente às pessoas com deficiência, o presente artigo considera as políticas de deficiência desenvolvidas entre 1974 e 2008. De modo a balizar esta análise, numa primeira parte identifico os pressupostos teóricos que informam o presente artigo, fazendo uma breve revisão dos modelos teórico-analíticos dominantes nesta área de investigação. segue-se uma revisão crítica das políticas direccionadas às pessoas com deficiência em Portugal, identificando características, tendências e ideologias subjacentes. Por último procuro traçar as características da acção estatal neste domínio decorrentes da análise da aplicação das políticas de deficiência em Portugal.

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<span>This article problematizes the cultural and socio-political positioning of disability through the analyses of the lives of people with spinal cord injuries. Their personal testimonies, collected at different stages of the rehabilitation process, are used to map some of the challenges faced by this group of people in the social inclusion process. This analysis is then complemented with the perspectives of the organizations working in the field and of family members, in order to explore the similarities between the lives of people with spinal cord injuries and the general situation of social exclusion lived by most disabled people in Portugal.</span>

Purpose Chronic pain is a multidimensional experience that is influenced by biological, psychological, social, and spiritual factors. The Meaning Making Model is a recent cognitive behavioral model that has been developed to understand how psychosocial factors influence adjustment to stressful events, such as having a chronic illness. This qualitative study aims to understand the potential utility of this model for understanding the role of meaning making in adjustment to chronic pain. Materials and Methods Eighteen community-dwelling adults with chronic low back pain or chronic pain due to osteoarthritis participated in four focus groups. Participants were asked open-ended questions about their pain experience, pain-related beliefs, meaning of pain, and the perceived association between pain and their meaning in life and sense of purpose. Data were submitted to thematic analysis and the identified themes were considered in light of the Meaning Making Model. Results Three overarching themes emerged, each of which included two themes. The first overarching theme – “appraised meaning of pain” – included the themes “causal attributions” and “primary appraisals.” The second – “meaning making processes” – included the themes “assimilation” and “accommodation.” The third – “meanings made” – included the themes “pain as an opportunity” and “acceptance.” Conclusion The key themes that emerged as individuals with chronic pain discussed pain and its impact are consistent with those that would be hypothesized as important from the Meaning Making Model, providing preliminary support for the utility of this model in the context of chronic pain. People with chronic pain appear to appraise pain in terms of its cause, controllability, threat, loss, or challenge. When a discrepancy between the appraised meaning of pain and one’s global meaning emerged, participants engaged in meaning making processes (accommodation and assimilation), resulting in meanings made, such as a reappraised meaning of pain, perceptions of growth, and acceptance.

Resumo: O Movimento pela Vida Independente para Pessoas com Deficiência tem ao longo das últimas quase cinco décadas reconfigurado as políticas sociais na área da deficiência em diferentes países do mundo ocidental. Neste movimento conjugam-se, sem contradição, alguns dos valores que estruturam o individualismo moderno e as concepções liberais de autonomia e da responsabilidade individual. Este artigo faz uma arqueologia deste movimento, de forma a situarmos a reivindicação por uma Vida Independente nas agendas do presente das organizações e do movimento de pessoas com deficiência, e de forma a refletir sobre o modo como a Vida Independente para pessoas com deficiência integra e articula alguns dos valores e concepções dominantes nas sociedades capitalistas ocidentais.

This article is dedicated to an analysis of the life trajectories of individuals with spinal cord injuries in Portugal. From a perspective that aims to understand the challenges faced in the different stages following the initial injury, it aims to relate corporeal, personal, and social impacts to medical, institutional, and political responses. Based on a total of 93 interviews, the analysis focuses on the period that starts with the event that caused the injury and extends to the present day, following the entire rehabilitation and integration process and identifying key structures, services, and institutions. In offering a critical reading of processes and structures that are capable of ensuring quality of life and social inclusion for persons with spinal cord injuries, it broadens the discussion to reveal the social exclusion widely experienced by persons with disabilities in Portugal.