76 The Professional Counselor | Volume 14, Issue 1 treated in the ways I indicated because of my disabilities or because I am a person of color.” These quotes highlight the inherent increase and subsequent impact on PWD who have more than one nondominant cultural identity. Discussion The purpose of our analysis was to illuminate participants’ lived experiences with ableist microaggressions that were important to them. We revealed contextual information about participants’ experiences that aligned with the AMS subscales (i.e., Minimization, Denial of Personhood, Otherization, and Helplessness). Although prior qualitative ableist microaggression studies (e.g., Coalson et al., 2022; Eisenman et al., 2020; Olkin et al., 2019) grounded their research in Keller and Galgay’s (2010) eight categories rather than in Conover et al.’s (2017a) four subscales, it is fair to say that our findings substantiate other researchers’ findings because Conover et al.’s four subscales were devised based on Keller and Galgay’s findings. While the corroboration of prior research findings based on the AMS subscales is illustrative and essential, the crucial findings from this study lie in the unique themes that arose from the in vivo coding process (i.e., Fortitude/Resilience/Coping, Contextual Factors, Impact of Microaggressions/ Ableism on Mental Health/Wellness, Microaggression Experiences Are Different Depending on Visibility of Disability, Internalized Ableism, and Microaggressions Include Identities Other Than Disability). These themes introduce both novel and less-explored aspects of disability and of ableist microaggressions. Fortitude/Resilience/Coping is a unique theme. Participants described how they became stronger and persevered despite microaggressive experiences. Eisenman et al. (2020) were the first to identify microaffirmations within ableist microaggressions research and Coalson et al. (2022) found that their participants perceived benefits that came from microaggressive experiences; both are important contributions. However, both instances of seeming positives related to ableist microaggressions in these studies are framed within the context of how others acted toward PWD rather than the autonomous choices and personal development of the person with the disability in the face of adversity. Our findings demonstrate PWD’s abilities—both innate qualities and learned skills—that rendered life-giving fortitude, resilience, and coping in which they are personally empowered and persevere despite external stimuli; they are not dependent upon whether others act appropriately. This is a key finding for counselors because they have the ability to create a therapeutic environment in which PWD can process, develop, and refine their fortitude, resilience, and coping further, acknowledging that PWD have these skills already. Unsurprisingly, some participants spoke to the impact of ableist microaggressions and ableism on their mental health and wellness; these impacts included depression, loneliness, stress, frustration, and feeling “pathetic and weak.” What was surprising is that only 9% of the sample spoke to this impact directly, given how well-documented the harmful mental health effects of microaggressions are (Sue & Spanierman, 2020). This seeming underrepresentation of mental health ramifications amongst participants led us to wonder, based on the high percentage of participants (30%) who endorsed Fortitude/Resilience/Coping, whether this specific sample had a uniquely high ability to cope with adversity as compared to the overall disability population or if it is possible that ableist microaggression experiences have begun to decrease. While we are unable to answer these questions directly as part of this study, we posit three considerations: (a) microaggressions continue to have a negative effect on some PWD and need to be screened for and attended to within the counseling
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