Analyzing the Reception of Disability Policies: The Contribution of Biographical Interviews

In France, as in many other countries, disability policies have evolved from a logic of protection and segregation of people with disabilities to the promotion of objectives of inclusion and non-discrimination. How has the social experience of disability been affected by these changes in public policy? This article provides qualitative elements of an answer to this question based on a research project using biographical interviews. The research is based on a sociological approach to the reception of public policy, enabling us to understand both the uses and effects of the latter. Based on this approach, I analyse, from the experience of those affected by them, the paradoxical dynamics of this policy and its emancipatory aims, based here on the issues of schooling and work integration, disability compensation, and accessibility.