The Professional Counselor | Volume 14, Issue 1 71 Table 2 Categories and Themes Category/Theme n % of Sample Category 1: Findings That Align With the AMS Subscales Minimization 35 38.88 Denial of Personhood 26 28.88 Otherization 17 18.88 Helplessness 16 17.77 Category 2: Unique Findings Independent of the AMS Subscales Fortitude/Resilience/Coping 27 30.00 Contextual Factors 17 18.88 Impact of Microaggressions/Ableism on Mental Health/Wellness 10 9.00 Microaggression Experiences Are Different Depending on Visibility of Disability 6 6.66 Internalized Ableism 4 4.44 Microaggressions Include Identities Other Than Disability 4 4.44 Note. N = 90. Minimization Conover et al. (2017a) defined Minimization as microaggression experiences demonstrating the belief that PWD are “overstating their impairment or needs” and that “individuals with a disability could be able-bodied if they wanted to be or that they are actually able-bodied” (p. 581). Thirty-five of the 90 participants’ responses (33.33%) indicated instances of Minimization. For example, P105 described incidents from their formative years that highlight the belief that PWD are, in fact, able-bodied and overstating their impairment: As a child, children and adults alike would test the limits of my blindness. My piers [sic] would ask me how many fingers they were holding up. And in one instance, teachers lined a hallway with chairs to see if I’d run into them. Spoiler alert, I did. P109 spoke to their interactions with family that highlight how disbelief about a person’s disability can result in Minimization: Family is really bad. They still don’t believe me. I was asked (when I couldn’t climb stairs into a restaurant) are you trying to make a point? My visible disability has gotten worse over 40 years. I think because they saw me before I started using a cane, they just won’t believe me.
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