ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines particularly timely because it gives disabled students a voice to inform current policy about issues that affect their lives. It affords young disabled people an opportunity to voice their aspirations in terms of why and where they originated, how they could be achieved, and the structures that might influence how their aspirations can be met. It presents evidence to suggest that young people's choices may be enabled or obstructed by physical, social or attitudinal factors, either inherent to the individual or societal structures. The central part of the book takes from empirical research with 33 young people with physical impairments who were recruited from seven educational institutions within one city and one county within the East Midlands in the UK. These included two special schools, two mainstream secondary schools, two mainstream sixth form schools and one specialist further education college.
