 Barnes (2009a) argues that having a disability can make an individual’s life more difficult and challenging at some points without making it go worse overall, or even making it more probable that it will. The challenges of disability are like those of other minority characteristics such as homosexuality; facing those challenges can give a life greater depth or direction. For example, some individuals who are disabled in adolescence or adulthood find that their previously shallow or aimless lives gained focus and purpose from the challenges they faced, and some individuals find that they acquired new skills or interests more rewarding than those precluded by their impairments. Because such enriching responses are so common, there is no basis for concluding that people with disabilities have a lower quality of life overall. But because disabilities 