Individuals with a sight impairment experience ableism as one form of discrimination

Studies and theoretical discussions about humans and nature tend to focus on “able bodied” encounters with nature. Research on how people with a disability experience nature is much more limited. This study addresses this gap in the literature by exploring how 31 young adults through older adults with sight impairment describe their nature-related experiences through the life course.

Individual interviews, lasting from one to three hours, were conducted with all the participants. A second “go-along” interview was conducted with 25 of the 31 participants in a setting they valued for experiencing nature in their everyday lives. The interview questions and the analysis of their responses were framed around four research questions: “(a) What is ‘nature’ to people living with diverse forms of sight impairment? (b) What types of encounter promote a sense of wellbeing and meaningful connection with nature? (c) To what extent, if at all, do people feel impaired in varied forms of nature and how might this change over time? (d) What could we learn from these ways of sensing and making sense of nature?”

Almost all of the participants indicated that they experienced feelings of freedom with nonhuman nature. These freedoms were described in three different dimensions: social, mobile, and exploratory. Examples from three of the participants’ narratives illustrate ways in which they and most of the other participants experienced moments of freedom in some form, including “sensations of freedom in the body (contributing to moments of peace or pleasure), freedom to make one’s own life choices (autonomy), freedom to forge meaningful relationships (positive relatedness), and to push oneself, learn and explore (personal growth).” The narratives also included examples of these freedoms being denied. For one participant, these “freedoms were very much lacking for most of her childhood and early adulthood as a result of ableist societal attitudes regarding the educational needs of children with sight impairment.”

This research calls attention to “the ableist assumptions underpinning current ideas of independent nature access.” This research also calls for a recognition that all bodies are equal and interdependent, multidimensional and dynamic. Ableism is called out as a social justice issue, in that it discriminates in favor of able-bodied people. For people with a disability, this form of discrimination restricts their freedom to experience nature in a way that works for them.