Discourse Analysis

A research methodology that examines how language constructs meaning, power relations, identities, and social realities. Critical discourse analysis specifically investigates how language in texts, media, and institutions reflects and reproduces social inequalities. In disability and accessibility studies, discourse analysis reveals how terminology, framing, and narrative strategies shape public understanding of disability—for example, how marketing language can construct autism as a crisis requiring urgent intervention, position parents as decision-makers while excluding autistic voices, or toggle between inclusive and medical framings to appeal to different audiences.