ABSTRACT
This chapter presents short personal narratives of three of the visually impaired physiotherapists, two men and one woman, who took part in both phases of the study. Terry found that his chosen field of physiotherapy posed particular problems for him as a visually impaired person. Hilary became visually impaired suddenly at the age of 22 after working as a Registered Mental Nurse for just one year. Robert's comments illustrate, that barriers are not always absolute but are perceived and appraised by each individual and may vary according to the person's temperament, experience and wider contextual factors such as the support they receive. The three short personal narratives illustrate how the disabling barriers visually impaired physiotherapists encounter, as well as the coping strategies they adopt, are modified according to many complex, interacting factors. The barriers encountered are sometimes impenetrable but this too is dependent on the prevailing attitudes of the time and such factors as staff shortages.
