This article draws on experimental research experience to reflect on ethical and methodological issues in research on communicative accessibility, media, and disability. As a field of study still under development, there are difficulties in finding consolidated references and databases, which leads to studies with tentative outlines and a need for methodological designs that enable the construction of these sets. These movements bring difficulties in relation to ethical and methodological dimensions and the importation of methods and techniques from other areas of knowledge. Based on dissertation research that investigated the inclusion of communicative accessibility in the training of journalists, we articulate an experience report with ethical, methodological, and epistemological reflections. We argue that research on communicative accessibility, media, and disability should adopt decolonial perspectives for the production of science, considering not only geographical location but also the contribution of knowledge produced by other corporealities. We consider the adoption of protocols for conducting interviews, data collection, and analysis to be strategic in order to increase the rigor of the results. We reflect on ethical procedures, which include submitting the project to a Human Research Ethics Committee, but also focus on the dimension of theory and methodological choices-which requires constant epistemological vigilance. Finally, experimental research should be considered as a possibility for constructing the respective field of knowledge and, consequently, for scientific advancement.
The growing visibility of neurological conditions, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), has been accompanied by the trivialization of diagnoses in the public sphere. The disclosure of medical reports on social networks, "diagnosis reveal parties," and viral content linking everyday behaviors to disorders reveal the tension between scientific information and media sensationalism. This study investigates the extent to which the public exposure of medical reports contributes to raising awareness or undermining the legitimacy of struggles faced by people with disabilities and neurodevelopmental disorders. It is grounded in the fields of risk communication and perception, as well as research on neurodiversity and digital media. The corpus comprises Instagram posts analyzed through sentiment analysis (Maia & Hauber, 2022). Findings indicate that, while the digital sharing of diagnoses may strengthen identities, it also tends to simplify complex conditions and reinforce stigma. The way diagnoses are communicated on social media is decisive for their symbolic effects and should follow the ethical principles of risk communication.
Benigna Cardoso da Silva, "faceless" saint from Cear & aacute;, victim of femicide, has an intriguing history marked by absences. In the absence of a photographic portrait, there are many attempts to get to her face. In this text, we show some images and discuss them with the aim of identifying which signs, which traits are pointed out in memories, and which ones are attenuated or erased in images constructed by the Catholic Church, and came out to the public. The prominent image of the face replies to technological, religious, media, cultural and political imperatives and imaginaries that transcend the time lived by Benigna, and communicate a human existence crossed by markers of social oppression that echoes in our times. Here we highlight empirical evidences and theoretical-interpretative articulations through which we consider that the Benigna's public image persistes indicating intentional erasures and violences, and underlining the resistance of her memory marked by insufficiency of a unique face.
This paper aims to identify how accessibility and the inclusion of workers with disabilities are being discussed in the European workplace context, and subsequently to establish connections and draw parallels with ongoing debates in the Brazilian fields of Organizational Communication and Public Relations. Drawing on insights from the experience and observation of three international conferences in related fields (Colloque Ges'Handi/France, DARCI Conference/UK, and the 26th Euprera Congress/Sweden) the study adopts a methodological experimentation that combines an experience report with a multiple case study. Field diary and participant observation techniques were employed. The findings reveal emerging themes, such as workforce participation indicators and the growing relevance of the Access Coordinator as a professional role. Although communication issues are present in the discussions, they are rarely identified or conceptualized as such. Within European Public Relations and Strategic Communication research, the topic of accessibility and inclusion remains underexplored.
Eugenics and ableist practices are tools for the exclusion of people with disabilities. The aim of this reflection is to present the viability of university extension programs to promote anti-ableist practices/behavior, based on the extension project 'The Fallacy of Incapacity and the Structure of Ableism'. The territorial delimitation of the project is the microregion of Barbacena, in Minas Gerais, with actions developed from February 1, 2024 to November 20, 2025. The methodology of the article focuses on the relational understanding of eugenics and ableism; on verifying the scope, development, and applicability of dignified communication for and/or by people with disabilities. The article indicates the communicative products and processes developed by the project to deconstruct discrimination and broaden the community's knowledge about exclusionary actions against this community. This prejudice and the attempt to make people with disabilities invisible can be seen in the use of discriminatory terms such as J'o & atilde;o sem Bra & ccedil;o' (John without an arm), as well as the lack of urban mobility infrastructure. Despite the qualitative, dialogical, and constructivist prominence of the outreach, the report demonstrates the importance of using communication channels to inform about confronting ableism. The target audience directly reached by the project was approximately 150 people, and indirectly, the estimated reach on social media is approximately 9,000.
