Annotated Bibliography
Agran, Martin, et al., editors. Equity and Full Participation for Individuals with Severe Disabilities. A Vision for the Future. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company, 2014.
The book is devoted to discussing issues and challenges that people with severe disabilities are facing and covers other topics that could contribute to developing a more inclusive environment and communities. Thus, the book focuses on various themes and explores the necessary changes in policies and practices that would tackle the issues concerning the lives of people with disabilities and their different needs. The issues addressed in the book originate in such spheres as education, societal inclusion, employment, medical and service support.
The book was written by leading specialists, representatives of TASH: researchers, students, policymakers, and self-advocates from different countries and ethnicities. Therefore, such a multifaceted approach makes the publication highly reliable and trustworthy and adds new insights to the existing knowledge on the issue by providing multiple perspectives and opinions. Although the book does not directly address the problems that service dogs’ owners endure, it allows us to acquire a more holistic approach to the challenges that people with disabilities and service providers have to address. Having this book as a source would make my research more relevant and precise. Moreover, it would allow us to develop suggestions on practical solutions taking into account the current challenges which are described in the book.
“Disability Resource Center Animal Infographic.” Florida International University Student Center, Web.
This source is an infographic that provides general guidelines for treating service, emotional support, and therapy dogs on the university campus. The leaflet offers necessary information on the differences between various types of companion animals and highlights the most important laws protecting them and their owners. Moreover, the leaflet provides instructions on basic etiquette towards service animals and emphasizes general rules of handling the animals.
The leaflet was developed by the Disability Resource Center at Florida International University and aimed at establishing adequate treatment for the animals’ owners. The university’s ongoing efforts and achieved results in developing equality and diversity on campus makes the image highly reliable and trustworthy. Moreover, the leaflet’s design and choice of presented information demonstrate a deep understanding of the topic and show how colorful infographics can attract attention and educate. These factors make the chosen source particularly significant for my research as it offers a practical example of raising awareness among members of the public.
Dorfman, Doron. “Fear of the Disability Con: Perceptions of Fraud and Special Rights Discourse.” Law & Society Review, vol. 53, no. 4, 2019, pp. 1051-1091.
The article discusses the prevalent phenomenon of accusing disabled people of faking their condition for various purposes, such as benefits or sympathy. It notes that people tend to view disability as a dichotomy rather than a spectrum, which leads to the questioning of events such as a wheelchair-bound person standing up. Service animal owners have to contend with assertions that their companion is a pet or an emotional support animal, which are not entitled to the same privileges as their working counterparts. As a result, they encounter difficulties and discrimination in their daily lives despite having not engaged in any misconduct. Moreover, this perception is then translated into law, which aims to prevent abuse but ultimately hurts legitimately disabled people. Changes that take this issue into account and address it are required, for which social workers and legislators have to address public perception.
The author claims that the method that must be used to combat this harmful stereotype involves taking a multi-directional approach. On the one hand, it is necessary to induce trust in people that the wheelchair or support dog their see are necessary for the person. On the other, stereotypes regarding people who fake their disabilities have to be alleviated at the same time. To that end, the authorities should introduce and enforce laws that prevent fake disability abuse without hurting legitimately disabled people. This study is credible because it operates with direct information collected via a nationwide online survey. It is also useful because it highlights a prominent reason why service dog handlers may encounter discrimination in public.
Mills, Meghan L. “Invisible Disabilities, Visible Service Dogs: The Discrimination of Service Dog Handlers.” Disability & Society, vol. 32, no. 5, 2017, pp. 635–656, Web.
The article studies various experiences of service dog handlers and addresses the issue of service dog-related discrimination. The author presents the survey results that show that half of all service dog owners have experienced discrimination. Although the article’s data came from an online survey, the research can be considered trustworthy and informative. The researcher measured discrimination as a dependent variable by four aspects: “self-reported discrimination, invasive questioning, unwanted attention, and questioned legitimacy” (Mills 643). Moreover, according to the researcher, the rate of discrimination depends on how visible a particular dog handler’s disability is.
This finding’s significance is its novelty: it was the first study of the social experiences of service dog handlers. Furthermore, the article also provides recommendations on the necessity of education programs that would raise awareness among the general public and help address this problem. The article was published in an international, peer-reviewed journal international disability studies journal focusing on issues of human rights, discrimination, policy, and practices. This makes the publication highly reliable and trustworthy and adds new insights to the existing knowledge on the issue.
The article is of particular importance for my research as it offers specific measures on improving the attitude of public institutions and shops’ employees towards mobility service dogs. Among the proposed methods are teaching the general public and business owners about legal definitions and rights of service dog handlers, ‘Service Dog etiquette’, and training on different types of disabilities (Mills 651). These recommendations could be useful for answering the research question.
Moreover, the article provides in-depth knowledge of discrimination and stigma around disabilities and potential discomforts that service dogs could add to a disabled person. This inclusion has contributed to a more profound understanding of the problem that should be featured in my research. Understanding the nature of discrimination towards people with disabilities and their service dogs might benefit the fullness of proposed measures to raise awareness among the public institutions’ employees.
Schoenfeld-Tacher, Regina, et al. “Public Perceptions of Service Dogs, Emotional Support Dogs, and Therapy Dogs.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 14, no. 6, 2017, pp. 642–655, Web.
This article is devoted to the issue of the legitimacy of service dogs in the United States. The researchers present results of the study that included carrying out an anonymous survey among U.S. adults. Obtained from more than 500 responses, they demonstrate the general positive attitude of the public towards broader access of assistance dogs to public places. However, while the overall acceptance of assistance animal owners was relatively high among respondents, it strongly depended on the visibility level of a person’s disability. The article also highlights the most important acts and statutes that regulate the use of assistance animals.
The article was published in an international, peer-reviewed open access journal by scholars currently working at North Carolina State University and Colorado State University. This makes the publication highly reliable and trustworthy and adds new insights to the existing knowledge on the issue. The source’s usefulness to my research is determined by the article’s focus on attitudes towards service dogs, which has affected my thinking on the topic and determined the focus on the connection between disability visibility and service dogs’ acceptance, which is crucial for the research question.
Zier, Emily R. “Which One to Follow? Service Animal Policy in the United States.” Disability and Health Journal, vol. 32, no. 5, 2020, pp. 635-656.
The author discusses the state of service animal laws in the United States in terms of their contradictions and burdens on the user. Specifically, they review the policies surrounding criminal interference, misrepresentation, and public accessibility clauses. These policies are then reviewed for inconsistencies and compared to each other as well as federal legislation, namely the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The study finds 26 states that are inconsistent with federal policy and 34 that have internal contradictions or differ from others. Moreover, only 31 states provide protections against fraudulent service animals, which also vary in scope and degree of enforcement. As a result, businesses that provide fake service animal registrations have emerged, providing various form of fraudulent documentation. These counterfeits reinforce the incorrect perception that such documents are necessary, further harming legitimate service dog owners when identification is demanded of them.
Overall, instead of benefiting service animal handlers, the current legislative framework within the United States damages them by impeding their social acceptance. Contradictions between states stop these people from traveling with their service animals, as they have to contend with differing policy. Meanwhile, internal contradictions make it challenging to establish a standard that the public can follow, leading to confusion and discrimination. With many of the policies not matching the federal standards, there is also potential that people in need of service animals are underserved in these jurisdictions. Lastly, the issue of fake service animal identification needs to be addressed via policies that curb misrepresentation. This study is useful because it reviews the pertinent legislation directly, effectively operating with the entirety of the direct information available. It is also useful because it provides directions and suggestions for future advocacy aiming to change the law to accommodate mobility-impaired people.