The lived experience of people with intellectual disabilities in post-secondary or higher education

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deirdre Corby ◽  
Laurence Taggart ◽  
Wendy Cousins
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Hermeneutic Phenomenology ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Individual Participant ◽  
People With Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Authentic Life

The transformational role education plays in the lives of people with intellectual disabilities has not been fully examined. The purpose of this study was to explore and investigate the meanings people with intellectual disabilities construct of their experiences in post-secondary and higher education. Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology was the qualitative methodology adopted for the study. Individual interviews were conducted with 27 people with intellectual disabilities and analysed in stages. These stages included the creation of I-Poems offering a unique opportunity for individual participant voices to be heard. Three core themes emerged to describe living an authentic life: learning (with the emphasis on increased skills, independence and opportunities); relationships (in particular, the importance of friendships), and perceptions including the existing realities of life for those with intellectual disabilities. The findings advance previous work highlighting the link between living a more authentic life and how education transforms how people with intellectual disabilities view themselves.

Views of family carers to the future accommodation and support needs of their relatives with intellectual disabilities

2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 140-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy McConkey ◽  
Jayne McConaghie ◽  
Owen Barr ◽  
Paul Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Service Planning ◽  
Support Needs ◽  
Family Carers ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Supported Accommodation ◽  
The Family ◽  
People With Intellectual Disabilities

AbstractObjectives: The demand for places in supported accommodation is likely to rise due to the increasing longevity of people with intellectual disabilities and as their parents become unavailable or unable to care for them. However few attempts have been made to ascertain carer's views on alternative accommodation.Method: Four studies were undertaken in Northern Ireland to ascertain carer's views using three different methods. In all, 387 carers participated with the response being greatest for individual interviews conducted in the family home and least for self-completed questionnaires and attendance at group meetings.Results: The majority of carers envisaged the person continuing to be cared for within the family. The most commonly chosen out-of-home provision was in residential or nursing homes, living with support in a house of their own and in homes for small groups of people. Few carers chose living with another family. However only small numbers of carers envisaged alternative provision being needed in the next two years and few had made any plans for alternative living arrangements.Conclusions: The implications for service planning are noted, primarily the need for individual reviews of future needs through person-centred planning; improved information to carers about various residential options and their differential benefits, along with more services aimed at improving the quality of life of people living with family carers. These need to be underpinned by a commitment of statutory agencies to partnership working with family carers. The implications for mental health services are noted.

scholarly journals Exploring coping strategies of carers looking after people with intellectual disabilities and dementia

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 292-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhathika D. Perera ◽  
Penny J. Standen
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Family Carers ◽  
Narrative Strategy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
People With Intellectual Disabilities

Purpose – Carers play a vital role in looking after people with intellectual disabilities (ID). Caring role can be stressful and challenging in nature. Carers use various coping strategies to deal with stressors. The purpose of this paper is to explore coping strategies of carers looking after people with ID and dementia. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative methodology was used to explore coping strategies. Focus groups and face-to-face interviews were carried out. These interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings – Nine interviews with carers (six paid carers and three family carers) and two focus groups with nursing staff looking after people with ID were carried out. Three key themes of “Narrative”, “Strategy toolbox” and “Compartmentalisation” emerged from analysis. Narrative and strategy took box were further subthemed. Carers had narratives about them and the person they look after. These “narratives” helped them to deal with day to day stressors. They also carried a “strategy toolbox”, which they used when they were in stressful situations. Compartmentalisation helped them to separate their personal life from work life as a carer. Originality/value – Understanding carers’ coping strategies is important when planning services to help carers who play an important role in our society. Professionals can support carers to understand and improve their existing coping skills and help them to thrive in their role as carers.

scholarly journals The design of an empirical cross-boundary collaborative open learning framework

Open Praxis ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chrissi Nerantzi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Academic Development ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Open Learning ◽  
Collective Case Study ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Learning Framework

This paper reports on the design and development of an empirical cross-boundary, collaborative open learning framework for cross-institutional academic development. The framework is one of the key outputs of a phenomenographic study into the lived experience of open learners in two open cross-institutional courses. Data was collected through individual interviews from 22 study participants from two courses that made up a collective case study. These courses were offered by UK higher education institutions in collaboration with informal partners nationally and internationally and were selected as these had different collaborative learning features built-in that could be explored. Course participants in these two courses include academic staff who teach or support learning and further open learners. The empirical design framework is proposed to support the development and implementation of cross-boundary collaborative open learning approaches within cross-institutional academic development and may also be useful in further learning and teaching settings in higher education.

scholarly journals Intellectual disability in higher education: Self-perceived training needs of university teachers

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Miguel Corbí ◽  
Monica Tombolato ◽  
Lidia Bueno-Sánchez ◽  
Katrien Hermans ◽  
Antonella Valenti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Training Needs ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Specific Training ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
People With Intellectual Disabilities

Introduction. The inclusion of students with disabilities in higher education is a fundamental right recognised by the legal system since its recognition in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, the measures adopted by European countries to promote their incorporation are not always accompanied by parallel training actions that provide university professors with the necessary knowledge to incorporate people with intellectual disabilities into the classroom with the same guarantees and opportunities as people without intellectual disabilities. Objective. This paper aims to provide specific data on the self-perceived training needs of university teaching staff and thus lay the foundations for a specific training programme. Methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out by means of a survey designed to collect the teachers' perceptions of their own competences and the effectiveness of their knowledge, as well as the importance they attached to some aspects of intellectual disability. The survey was administered to teachers in Serbia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy and Spain, with a total sample of 1009 teachers. Results. The results obtained showed that the perception of self-perceived competence in educational skills is dependent on three main factors: previous specific training, teaching experience with people with intellectual disabilities and own personal experiences. Conclusion. The present study demonstrated the concern and need of the teaching staff to obtain specific training on people with intellectual disabilities in higher education.

Reducing the barriers to relationships and sexuality education for persons with intellectual disabilities

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Attracta Lafferty ◽  
Roy McConkey ◽  
Audrey Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Sexuality Education ◽  
Professional Staff ◽  
Family Carers ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
Management Procedures ◽  
People With Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Vulnerable Persons

Opportunities for persons with intellectual disabilities to participate in relationships and sexuality education (RSE) are often constrained by the attitudes and perceptions of family carers, frontline support workers and professional staff. In order to understand how the barriers might be reduced, a study was undertaken in Northern Ireland with samples drawn from these three stakeholder groups, involving nearly 100 persons and using group and individual interviews. Although there was agreement on the need for RSE, four barriers were commonly reported: the need to protect vulnerable persons; the lack of training; the scarcity of educational resources; and cultural prohibitions. The impact of these barriers could be lessened through partnership working across these groups involving the provision of training and information about RSE, the development of risk management procedures and the empowerment of people with intellectual disabilities.

Commentary on: “Lost in the literature”. People with intellectual disabilities who identify as trans: a narrative review

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tessa-May Zirnsak
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Queer Theory ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Transgender Identity ◽  
Safe Spaces ◽  
Trans People ◽  
People With Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
To Come

Purpose This paper aims to discuss the barriers that people with intellectual disabilities face to come out as transgender in the context of a paucity of research with or about this group. Design/methodology/approach The commentary and brief overview of trans participation in literature on people with intellectual disabilities presented in this paper is informed by a Queer Theory and Critical disabilities Studies approach. Findings Researchers in this area are correct that there is insufficient literature that addressed the experiences of trans people with intellectual disabilities; however, for trans people with intellectual disabilities to be involved in research they must first be safe to self-identify and come out in their communities and services. Existing research suggests that people with intellectual disabilities may face additional barriers to self-identifying as LGTBQ, and that for those who have claimed a trans identity, it is not safe to come out. Social implications There is a need for researchers and professional and lived experience experts to be engaged in policy and social research with the aim of creating safe spaces and communities for people with intellectual disabilities to explore and affirm their gender. Originality/value There are no published papers that redirect focus from a paucity of research into the experiences of trans people with intellectual disabilities towards addressing why trans people with intellectual disabilities may choose not to come out in a context of hostility towards transgender identity in disabilities services.

Conceptualising the therapeutic alliance: exploring the relevance of Bordin’s model for adults with intellectual disabilities

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 169-179
Author(s):  
Sarah Cameron ◽  
James Swanton ◽  
Dave Dagnan
Keyword(s):  
Therapeutic Alliance ◽  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
People With Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Therapy Alliance ◽  
Adults With Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Therapeutic Model

Purpose This study aims to explore the applicability of Bordin’s model of therapeutic alliance in talking therapies for people with intellectual disabilities. Design/methodology/approach People with intellectual disabilities and therapists in six therapy dyads were interviewed using a qualitative methodology. Data were analysed using thematic analysis to explore how people with learning disabilities constructed the dimensions of therapeutic alliance. Content analysis was then used to focus on therapy bond, therapy tasks and goals to explore the agreement on these dimensions between the therapist and client. Findings People with intellectual disabilities reported their experience of therapy in a way that initially validates the alliance dimensions of Bordin’s model. There was clear overlap within most dyads in the description of the characteristics of the bond, the tasks undertaken and the goals of therapy. Some therapists described additional goals based on their therapeutic model that were not clearly described by the client working with them. Research limitations/implications This study is limited by only including six therapy dyads; however, the results suggest further research on the impact of therapy alliance and how goals and tasks are agreed would be valuable. Originality/value Very few studies have explicitly examined the client’s view of therapy alliance.

scholarly journals Developing an Ecological Approach to the Strategic Implementation of UDL in Higher Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Frederic Fovet
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Universal Design For Learning ◽  
Ecological Theory ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Disability Service Providers ◽  
Design For Learning ◽  
Institutional Adoption

This paper argues that, as Canadian Higher Education campuses embark on large scale Universal Design for Learning (UDL) implementation, it is essential for them to take the time to strategically consider inherent institutional challenges before pushing ahead. As a result, it is argued that ecological theory will represent a unique and powerful lens in this process of implementation. The first section of the paper examines two inherent dangers being perpetuated in current UDL drives on the vast majority of Canadian campuses that have embarked on this adventure: (i) overreliance on disability service providers, and (ii) a conceptualization of UDL work in silos. The second half of the paper focuses on solutions, and on the idea of developing a strategic approach to UDL integration framed around ecological theory. The paper draws on an analysis of phenomenological data emerging from the author’s own lived experience as a consultant responding regularly to the needs of post-secondary campuses with regards to the institutional adoption of UDL.

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