Disability and Hope

Abstract Abstract People with disabilities constitute a heterogeneous group who may nonetheless experience common challenges that affect their well-being, personal identity, and outlook toward the future. Considering their diverse characteristics and the few empirical studies on hope for groups of people with physical and sensory disabilities, this chapter reviews empirical studies on hope across the lifespan for individuals with four major neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), upholding a resilience approach. The four disabilities comprise: specific learning disorder (SLD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), intellectual disability disorder (IDD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). First, the chapter describes the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria for these challenges, briefly illustrating difficulties in academic, social, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral domains. Then, it presents an overview of empirical research that examined hope in people with these disabilities at different ages, and in their parents, identifying links between hopeful thinking and measures of functioning and adjustment. Next, it discusses possible internal and external antecedents of the lower hope experienced by these individuals. Finally, it describes implications and directions for future hope-promoting research and intervention.