Autobiographical narratives of deaf people or people with visual impairment: analysis of identities and representations

The article aims to analyze identity processes and representations of deaf people or people visually impaired, discussing school reports in autobiographical narratives. Thus, eight books in the editorial market, covering different spaces and times, are investigated in order to give an overview of the experiences of in/exclusion of "subjects considered different" in public schools, especially in public schools. In dialogue with theories about narratives of the self, identities and representations, the analysis of the empirical material enables to observe difficulties of accessing and guaranteeing an inclusive education to deaf or visually impaired people. These subjects tense standardization processes, self-affirm their identitary positions in minority groups and claim the right to be different, while they narrate and withstand pejorative representations. A non-exclusive inclusion allows welcoming the different and the "sense of inclusion", enhancing their opportunities of learning.

Keywords:
deaf; impaired vision; social representation; identity; autobiography