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Disability and discourse: analysing inclusive conversation with people with intellectual disabilities
- Author:
- WILLIAMS Val
- Publisher:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 257p.
- Place of publication:
- Chichester
This book applies and explains Conversation Analysis (CA), an established methodology for studying communication, to explore what happens during the everyday encounters of people with intellectual disabilities and the other people with whom they interact. It explores conversations and encounters from the lives of people with intellectual disabilities, and introduces the established methodology of Conversation Analysis, making it accessible and useful to a wide range of students, researchers and practitioners. The book adopts a discursive approach which looks at how people with intellectual disabilities use talk in real-life situations, while showing how such talk can be supported and developed, and follows people into the meetings and discussions that take place in self-advocacy and research contexts. It then offers insights into how people with learning disabilities can have a voice in their own affairs, in policy-making, and in research.
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.
The history of self-advocacy in Wales
- Authors:
- BOXALL Yvon, KUROWSKI Katrina
- Journal article citation:
- Llais, 100, Autumn 2011, pp.30-33.
- Publisher:
- Learning Disability Wales
People with learning disabilities often have little chance to express their basic rights. Self-advocacy has made people more aware of equality and the right to community life. Since the early days of the All Wales Strategy (AWS), most self-advocacy was being developed through day services, and was supported by day service staff. Self-advocacy groups focused on people speaking up for themselves to make choices or decisions. This article charts the development of self-advocacy since the launch of the AWS. It describes recent developments such as Individual Planning which was used as to promote the idea that people need to be at the centre of any decisions that affect their lives and lifestyle, and Participation which was also used as a building block in the early days. The article then discusses the development of People First in Wales and how it has contributed to ‘choice and control’, ‘community’ and ‘change’.
Staying strong: taking self advocacy into the future
- Author:
- NATIONAL FORUM OF PEOPLE WITH LEARNING DIFFICULTIES
- Publisher:
- National Forum of People with Learning Difficulties
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 40p.
- Place of publication:
- Shoreham-by-Sea
Self advocacy groups are led by people with learning disabilities. They work to ensure that people with learning disabilities are treated fairly. This easy read guide aims to help self advocacy groups adapt and change their ways of working, and to ensure they have a plan for their future. It is based on a survey of self-advocacy groups from all over England and provides an overview of how groups are run, what they do and advice on how to plan to stay strong as government funding is reduced. The report includes information on five groups including a group of people with complex needs, an Asian women’s group and a parents’ group.
Next steps: a user-led model of self-direction, self-advocacy and fulfillment
- Author:
- VOICEABILITY
- Publisher:
- Voiceability
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 54p.
- Place of publication:
- Cambridge
The Next Steps project, provided by the UK advocacy charity VoiceAbility, is an empowerment and self advocacy project for adults and young people with learning disabilities. It aims to support people with learning disabilities to develop their life skills, increase their confidence, make choices about their own lives, and create a lifestyle in the community based on their aspirations, interests, skills and needs. This report provides an overview of the Next Steps model, covering the context, value base and key approaches. It describes how to set up a Next Steps project, including initial planning, setting up, running the project, and monitoring and assessment. It also discusses challenges in the Next Steps approach and the support available.