Introduction: Disabilities and the Life Course

Heather E. Dillaway, PhD, is a Professor of Sociology and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Illinois State University. Her research focuses on women's experiences of menopause and midlife, and the reproductive health experiences of women with physical disabilities. Her research on women's experiences of physical disability appears in a range of journals and book volumes, including Sex Roles, Disability Studies Quarterly, Disability and Health Journal, American Journal of Occupational Therapy, The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, Research in Social Science and Disability, and The Oxford Handbook on the Sociology of Disability. She also coedited a special issue of Gender & Society on intersectionality, gender and disability.