Because children with disabilities now live longer and grow up to be increasingly integrated into all aspects ofschool, work, and socialcultures, there isreason tobelieve that they may experience dailystressors and responses that aresimilar to other young people. However, because of the challenges of living with disabilities, adolescents may also experience unique stress-coping experiences. In order to assistsuchyoung people and their families, there is a needfor informationfrom the direct perspective of adolescents with disabilities. Using a qualitative descriptive design and a diary method, this study describes daily hassles, copingresponses, and uplifts (Positive outcomes) directly as reported by teenagers with disabilities. Six adolescents with physical and cognitive disabilities produced 97 diary entries overa period of onemonth. Content analysis uncovered domains and themes in areas of dailystress-coping phenomena. Resultsrevealed similarities among this population with teenagers uiho donot havedisabilities, as wellas unique responses. Particularly significantwere unique stressors of time and task management, awareness of limitations caused by disability, and intense, yet naive, concerns about boy-girl relationships. Implications forfamilies, educators and service providers are offered.
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