The Development of the Disability Microagressions Scale

The aim of this research project was to develop a working prototype instrument that measures the type of microaggressions that people with a readily apparent disability encounter. The research used a modified Delphi panel of ten experts to systematically identify relevant microaggressions. Microaggressions are brief interactions that communicate biased and offensive messages toward people based on their marginalized identity (Pierce, Carew, Pierce-Gonzalez, & Wills, 1977; Sue, Capodilupo, Bucceri, Holder, & Esquilin, 2007). People with a disability are a marginalized group and experience various types of microaggressions in their daily life. Disability-specific microaggressions will help facilitate research focused on the examination of ableism on an interpersonal and everyday level.