Search results for ‘Subject term:"learning disabilities"’ Sort:
Results 41 - 50 of 196
An exploration of the self-advocacy support role through collaborative research: ‘there should never be a them and us’
- Author:
- CHAPMAN Rohhss
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 27(1), 2013, pp.44-53.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This paper reports on the findings of a qualitative team research project, exploring the role of support workers in UK self-advocacy organizations. A secondary aim of the paper was to add to understanding around inclusive research methodology, reporting on some of the experiences of collaboration. The research was undertaken by the author working with the Carlisle People First Research Team (CPFRT). The study developed an inclusive team approach working alongside researchers labelled with learning difficulties. Emphasis was placed on making all aspects of the research cycle accessible to the team. A variety of qualitative methods were used. Findings from emergent themes are discussed under three areas: (i) governance, leadership and policy; (ii) process and methods within groups, and; (iii) use of models and theories. The result found that despite supporters’ allegiances to disability equality and their emphasis on reflexivity, many crucial aspects of organizational practice and support remained hidden. However, an emerging shared narrative about the potential of people first implied the possibility of increased collaboration. This was evidenced in some of the groups. (Edited publisher abstract)
Self-advocacy: where now?
- Author:
- DAVIES Ian
- Journal article citation:
- Learning Disability Today, December 2012, pp.24-26.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
This paper details findings from a Central England People First (CEPF) project into the state of self-advocacy today. CEPF has always had the philosophy that members run the organisation and paid staff are there to help, not lead. The research consisted of visits to eight self-advocacy organisations in England and Scotland in 2012, and was primarily concerned with how a management team can be run to make sure the members with learning disabilities remain in charge while being able to get quality advice when necessary. The best organisations used a board of trustees to oversee the staff. Managing paid staff was a crucial issue for self-advocacy organisations; this was an area where members really needed good support, and help from outside the organisation was vital.
Enabling self-advocacy: working hand-in-hand with people with learning disabilities
- Author:
- CALLUS Anne-Marie
- Journal article citation:
- Learning Disability Today, June 2012, pp.22-24.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
The responses of people with learning disabilities clearly show how important it is to take their views into account. Yet, it is often the views of professionals that are listened to. This leads to a propensity for interactions with people with learning disabilities to be based primarily on a consideration of their impairments, rather than from a consideration of their wishes, aspirations or perceptions. This article suggests that to make self-advocacy truly enabling requires an understanding of how the term ‘learning disability’ is understood. It discusses the notion of ‘normal’, and how learning disabilities imply ‘not normal’ – which can have deleterious effects on the lives of those with learning disabilities, including social rejection, a lack of control over their own lives, and a lack of opportunity.
Assessment of functional caregiving in homes with a child with an intellectual disability
- Authors:
- BEZRUCZKO Nikolaus, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 8(3), September 2011, pp.207-216.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study examined the nature of assessing functional caregiving (FC) by measuring mothers' confidence to care for children with intellectual disabilities in their homes. Rating scale items were developed to survey mothers' caregiving confidence. Participants include 201 mothers of children with an intellectual disability from the urban and suburban greater Chicago metropolitan area. Analysis of task difficulties on components defined by FC domains was consistent with an ecological model. Task hierarchy was also found to be consistent with humanistic psychology principles. When FC measurement properties were compared between suburban and urban mothers, as well as mothers of educationally at risk and special needs children, psychometric reliability was high. In general, mothers' self-confidence measures were valid and reliable, but noted future studies are needed to link FC measures directly to competency and home caregiving quality. The authors concluded that future research should explore replication of core items across other disabilities and chronic diseases, as well as applicability to caregiving standards.
Using personal construct theory to explore self-image with adolescents with learning disabilities
- Authors:
- THOMAS Samantha, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39(3), September 2011, pp.225-232.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
It is often difficult for young people with learning disabilities to express themselves to their teachers and carers in how they see themselves and what is important to them. This idea of self is often central to their psychological well-being. However, in the UK, there is little research conducted which examines self-image with young people with learning disabilities. Previous studies have demonstrated the effective use of personal construct theory with children and adults with learning disabilities and this paper suggests that personal construct elicitation methods can be used to help young people with learning disabilities communicate and share their self-constructs. Four personal construct elicitation methods, including drawings, were used successfully to support students to discuss constructs of self, suggesting that personal construct theory can be used to guide an exploration of self-image with adolescents with learning disabilities. The students in this study construed their self-image hierarchically using psychological constructs over nine different dimensions of self. Overall, participants found the questions and drawings helped them to share ideas about themselves with other people.
Following through to the end: the use of inclusive strategies to analyse and interpret data in participatory action research with individuals with intellectual disabilities
- Authors:
- KRAMER Jessica M., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 24(3), May 2011, pp.263-273.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Scholars have called for research approaches that actively include and are driven by people with intellectual disabilities. However, the actual procedures and key strategies used by researchers and people with intellectual disabilities to access, analyse and interpret research data have been scarcely documented in the literature. This paper presents a detailed example from a participatory action research (PAR) project to demonstrate how people with intellectual disabilities can be included in the process of data analysis and interpretation. The PAR project comprised collaboration between university researchers and a self-advocacy organisation called People First and aimed to increase the group’s capacity for self-advocacy. The university researchers presented numerical data in 3 visual formats for analysis. Seventeen People First members analysed and interpreted the data using a modified focus group approach. All members participated in data analysis, but not all members participated in data interpretation. Members’ interpretations suggest that the group felt an increased sense of empowerment and heightened awareness as a result of their increased capacity to run a meeting and involvement in the PAR cycle of action and reflection. The findings suggest that strategies such as visual representation of data, group analysis, and familiarity with data collection tools foster an inclusive process of analysis and interpretation.
‘It's only right that we get involved’: service-user perspectives on involvement in learning disability services
- Authors:
- HOOLE Lucy, MORGAN Sally
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39(1), March 2011, pp.5-10.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Promotion of service-user and carer involvement is part of the mainstream policy agenda in health and social care. Much effort has been invested into involving people with learning disabilities in decisions regarding aspects of their lives through advocacy projects and the utilisation of person-centred planning approaches. However, people with learning disabilities continue to be a group of people who are the `most excluded, least independent and most likely to lack control in everyday life'. This article describes a focus group that was conducted to explore the lived experiences of people with learning disabilities as users of services. Thematic analysis revealed three key themes: feelings of unfairness and inequality; experiences of inclusion and power; and future visions. Implications for practice are discussed. Overall, the focus group participants sought greater equality in the decision-making process that affected their everyday lives, breaking down the barriers to meaningful involvement in service development.
Leadership development of individuals with developmental disabilities in the self-advocacy movement
- Author:
- CALDWELL J.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 54(11), November 2010, pp.1004-1014.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study builds upon previous life story work to explore leadership development in individuals within the US self-advocacy movement. The author believes that a better understanding of this process may assist with supporting the movement and leadership development of young people with disabilities. In-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 adult leaders in the self-advocacy movement; purposeful snowball sampling was used to ensure that a diverse group of leaders was involved. Four major themes and factors associated with leadership development were identified: disability oppression and resistance; environmental supports and relationships; leadership skills; and advanced leadership opportunities. Each factor is discussed in turn. The author concludes that, while the findings of the study may not be generalisable to all leaders with developmental disabilities, they suggest broad factors that may influence leadership development, practical approaches for intervention and considerations for future research.
Help us to help ourselves
- Author:
- STANISTREET Paul
- Journal article citation:
- Adults Learning, 22(2), October 2010, pp.10-13.
- Publisher:
- National Institute for Adult Continuing Education
The Adult Safeguarded Learning budget is under threat in the current spending review. Yet much of the learning it funds is facilitating the kind of self-organising, grassroots activism the government says it wants to support. The author visited two local authorities (Kirklees Council and Somerset County Council) to see the often profound difference this sort of learning is making to communities. The article outlines how the services help to inspire people into transforming their lives, and how they engage the hard to reach adults. Through learning, the programmes promote community cohesion and help build agency within the community. These schemes also help in promoting democratic citizenship, with adults being more likely to engage in civic activities.
Reflections on doing inclusive research in the “Making Life Good in the Community” study
- Authors:
- BIGBY Christine, FRAWLEY Patsie
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 35(2), June 2010, pp.53-61.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The involvement of people with intellectual disability in research is framed as inclusive, denoting their active participation in its processes. However, questions are raised about ownership and control, genuineness of involvement, and the need for honest accounts to develop practice. This study used action research to reflect on and progressively refine the support provided by a research mentor to a co-researcher with intellectual disability employed on a large multimethod study. The co-researcher with intellectual disability was employed to be involved in the investigation of ‘homeliness’ in the ‘Making Life Good in the Community’ study. This paper describes the process of supporting the co-researcher rather than the findings of the research. The paper concludes that accepting the co-researcher's strengths and designing support on the job rather than teaching them to ‘pass’ before venturing out in the field are important in ceding control. Support required for a co-researcher is more than practical and involves developing a relationship that can actively challenge views and foster reflection. Ownership of questions and disseminating of outcomes are hampered by contextual factors such as tender processes, short-term positions, and a failure to acknowledge the support required to present findings.