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This article adopts a theoretical perspective inspired from the work of Michel Foucault to explore the experience of disabled students in Malta. In particular, it studies the discourses and educati...

In this article, I reflect on three incidents that occurred in my inclusive research work. As a conceptual framework, I use Bourdieu’s call for a reflexive sociology. My reflection is infor...

This chapter discusses the origins, principles and practices of doing inclusive research with persons with intellectual disability as co-researchers. The relationship between inclusive research on the one hand and participatory and emancipatory research on the other is considered together with the link to self-advocacy. The chapter also provides examples of inclusive research and discusses the methods that are mostly used in inclusive research. The role of academic researchers and co-researchers with intellectual disability is also discussed, both in conducting research and in writing about the research carried out., peer-reviewed

In this article I explore how generic disability conferences can become more inclusive of participants with intellectual disability. Increased inclusivity entails adapting to the support needs of people with intellectual disability, in line with the principles and practice of inclusive research. In the article I consider three specific areas where there can be more inclusion – access to information related to the conference, access to knowledge imparted during the conference, and financial issues. While many good practices have been developed in these areas, it is important to ensure that inclusion is catered for in a systematic and pro-active manner, so that people with intellectual disability have increasingly more meaningful and active roles within disability studies and disability research.

A study of overprotection in the lives of persons with intellectual disability in Malta was carried out on the principles of inclusive research. Focus groups were held with people with intellectual disability, parents of people with intellectual disability, and those working with persons with intellectual disability. Overprotection is a disabling barrier. Its effects were identified in employment, leisure time, intimate relationships, and the use of public transport, money, and mobile phones. People with intellectual disabil- ity who experience overprotection live very structured lives. They cannot develop their skills, abilities, and potential. Furthermore, they cannot live their life on their own terms, but on terms determined by others. This creates a sustained dependence on others, especially the family. It is important that a balance is achieved between protection and enabling support. Persons with intellectual disability should be given the support they need to express their wishes and act on them., peer-reviewed

At the half-hour mark of Tropic Thunder, Robert Downey Jr’s character Kirk Lazarus teaches Ben Stiller’s Tugg Speedman a lesson about Hollywood and the Oscars. Lazarus and Speedman, both actors, discuss Speedman’s interpre- tation of a person with intellectual disability in one of his films: Simple Jack. Lazarus argues that Hollywood does not like portrayals of people with intellectual disability that are too realistic. Taking this approach leads to actors going home “empty-handed” on Oscar night, he tells Speedman. In his argument, the key part of which is reproduced below, Lazarus refers to four films: Forrest Gump, Rain Man, Being There, and I am Sam. The portrayals of people with intellectual disability and the depiction of their lives in these films, and to a lesser extent in Tropic Thunder itself, are the focus of this article., peer-reviewed

When setting up the premises for a dialogue between disability studies and critical trauma studies and embarking on editing this pilot issue on ‘encounters’ between the two disciplines, we necessarily welcomed interdisciplinary approaches, ranging across disability studies, trauma studies, literary and cultural studies, media studies, as well as many other disciplines in the humanities. The first step in introducing this issue to our readers will be to present the histories of both disability studies and trauma studies in order to see how they evolved and see why our proposal that they should meet half way or at least more often can be considered a valid o, peer-reviewed

This article looks at the representation of scale in the 2014 film The Theory of Everything, identifying moments that relate to three concerns: firstly, how disabled people experience scale issues at an all too practical level in daily life; secondly, how Hawking’s experience of scale at the level of both body and mind is (a)typical of the way it is experienced by disabled people generally; and, thirdly, how a focus on the film can prompt some rethinking of perspectives both within disability studies and within the conceptualisation of scale more broadly.

Friendship is an issue of concern for many people with intellectual disability. The aim of the research presented in this paper is to understand how people with intellectual disability experience friendship and what friendship means for them. A focus group was held with seven people with intellectual disability, who are members of a self-advocacy group. An inductive thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the data. The people that the research participants identified as their friends were fellow self-advocates, family members, support workers and co-workers. They also identified behaviours and actions that foster friendship and those that undermine it. The analysis shows how the research participants identified as friendships those relationships which had an element of reciprocity, while linking a lack of reciprocity with the absence of friendship. It is very important for non-disabled people to understand the perspectives of people with intellectual disability they live and work with., peer-reviewed

Callus discusses how documentary film, an overwhelmingly audiovisual medium, can mediate the reality of the life of a deafblind person, through the two senses that are inaccessible to that person. She analyses the techniques used in Yi Seung-Jun’s 2011 Planet of Snail to convey the world as experienced by its protagonist Young-Chan, arguing that while we can watch and listen to him ‘being-in-the-world’, we cannot ever experience the world as he does. Callus also considers the documentary’s narrative of the life of Young-Chan and his wife Soon-Ho, who has a physical disability, and how their love is portrayed touchingly, while avoiding sentimentality. Finally, the chapter discusses the ethical issues raised by the inherent inaccessibility of the documentary to the very person whose life it depicts.

The main aim of this article is to adapt the Typology of Disability Organisations that Oliver devised, and subsequently developed further in 1990, to a different context, in this case the Maltese disability sector. The paper first traces the history of the disabled people’s movement and presents Oliver’s Typology, which makes a clear distinction between organisations for and of disabled persons. The article then highlights the main characteristics of the Maltese disability sector and develops the Typology of the organisations operating within that sector. It shows how it is non- disabled people that are mostly in control of disability organisations, and suggests ways in which there can be a stronger movement towards the development and strengthening of disabled people’s organisations. The article shows how Oliver’s Typology can be used flexibly and adapted to various contexts. It also shows how drawing up a Typology of Disability Organisations can shed light on the environment within which these organisations operate, identifying areas of strength and possible areas for growth., peer-reviewed

This article has been written by a group of persons with intellectual disability, which is called the Consultative Committee of Persons with Intellectual Disability. This group works in Malta. The article is about how we would like to live. It looks at two things: ‘where we would like to live’ and ‘going out in the community’. This article shows the different opinions of persons with intellectual disability about these subjects. The fact that different people have different opinions shows why it is important that service providers talk to persons with intellectual disabilities about how they would like to live. They have a right to choose. Other people should not decide for them about what they would like to do in their lives. But it is also important to remember that they need help in their lives and more accessibility so that they can do what they would like to do., N/A

This paper presented research undertaken in collaboration with a self-advocacy group using inclusive research methods and puts forward the views of people with intellectual disability on the topics of sexuality and relationships. The paper presents the perceptions of sexuality of the people with intellectual disability and how these are influenced by social and cultural norms. Using Judith Butler’s concept of performativity, the analysis of the findings shows how some people with intellectual disability accept the sexual norms that are ascribed to them, while others resist them. The paper also shows how the inclusive research process itself enabled the people with intellectual disability who took part to articulate their acceptance or resistance of these norms., peer-reviewed