ABSTRACT
Keywords: Computer-mediated communication, impersonal communication,
hyperpersonal communication, computer-based self-help/mutual aid groups
In 1986 it was estimated that in the United States there were 1.7 million “homebound”
people with disabilities and eight times that number who were temporarily disabled
(Zastrow, 1986). Fifty years ago this could have meant social and personal isolation for
these people who had limited physical means to interact with others, especially others
with disabilities. Today, assistive technologies are radically changing the lives of people
with disabilities (Joslyn-Scherer, 1993), and inexpensive computer technologies have
dramatically expanded the economic and social opportunities of people with disabilities
(Hood, 1996). The World Wide Web (WWW), the newest addition to the Information
Age, also called the Information Superhighway, and computer-mediated communication
(CMC), a segment of that highway, are greatly increasing the access of people with
disabilities to information and interaction. Given the exponential growth and use of the
WWW and CMC, it is important to examine this medium of communication and its
impact on people with disabilities. In this chapter, I seek to accomplish four goals. First, I
give an overview of the various types of resources presently available to and about people
with disabilities on the WWW. Second, I broadly review the area of CMC, the theories
used to explain online relationships, and how CMC specifically relates to people with
disabilities, arguing that CMC has advantages over face-to-face communication for
people with disabilities. Third, I discuss the use of computer-based self-help/mutual aid
(CSHMA) groups by people with disabilities and integrate social support literature as it
relates to CMC. Finally, I investigate and question the strengths and weaknesses of
CSHMA groups as a credible avenue of social support for people with disabilities.
