Introduction

Disability is always grounded in bodies. Whether an impairment is considered physical, sensory, mental, or emotional, disability is labelled through what bodies do—and fail to do. Disability is also always grounded in communication, negotiated and made meaningful in the world of social relations. This handbook brings together two highly interdisciplinary intellectual pursuits, disability studies and communication studies, to explore how we human beings make sense of disability as an identity and human phenomenon. Disability and communication are expansive, ever-changing, and highly contextual. This chapter lays out the fundamental conceptions of the book and provides an outline of its sections and chapters.