Methods
‘Inclusive research’ refers to a process wherein participants with
intellectual disabilities are actively involved beyond being observed or
interviewed (Walmsley, 2001). Collaborative groups refer to partnerships
“in which people with and without disabilities work together have
both shared and distinct purposes, which are given similar attention and
make contributions that are equally valued. The position of the people
with intellectual disability is not privileged in terms of power or
control and researchers are not simply there to assist ” (Bigby et al,
2014; p.8.)
Inclusive research addresses the matter of previous lack of control
experienced by disabled people (Stevenson 2011) whilst upholding the
authenticity of their contributions to the research. Researchers have
adapted the concept of spaces such as ‘non accessible’ space (Bigby,
Frawley & Ramcharan, 2013), ‘interactive’ space in which new
connections and common assumptions can be built (Nind, 2011, p. 356) or
as space to ‘air arguments and debate’ (Walmsley & Johnson (2003, p.
15) congruent with the notion of ‘nothing about us without us’
(Charlton, 1998). Bigby, Frawley and Ramcharan (2013) also refer to a
space where critical research and development necessary to scaffold
inclusion occurs.
We adopted the strength perspective characteristic of the collaborative
group approach described by Nind (2011, p. 356) so that ‘data
generation and analysis occurred concurrently in conversation and in
directed activities’ during a ‘process of dialogue, seeking input
and feedback rather than sitting down together to do a task’ (Nind
2011, p. 358.)
Settings
The project piloted interventions in different settings, covering a
range of learning situations . Interventions were designed, each time
with the purpose of magnifying the micro-interactions taking place,
where evidence of shift may be traced from feedback received from the
community leaders and participants. The community encounters were
planned to benefit from cumulative learning in real time. These
encounters gradually increased in scope, ranging from supporting a brand
new initiative from the ground up, to early intervention activities,
through to designing ongoing encounters:
- Inception: We facilitated discussions about launching an artist
network designed with integration in mind, in collaboration with the
local community arts organisation and artists, involving about 100
participants. These meetings were informal gatherings for the purpose
of networking and exchanging information and contacts.
- Early intervention steps with small groups of marginalized people: A
disabled artist attended a three-day Art’s Trail, mentored by an art
teacher to engage with 30 local artists.
- Designing open-ended encounters: Starting on a local university
campus, these open-ended encounters spanned a month, with over 70
participants joining in participative art.
Though different in scope, these interventions had two core
methodological points in common: the way people were approached and the
way the data were collected.
Intentional invitations
Abbott and McConkey (2006) noted that an important component of social
inclusion is meeting other people in ordinary settings and being treated
similarly. These get togethers were planned to facilitate meetings in
ordinary settings, as people with disabilities often have few
spontaneous occasions to take part in these. An Intentional Invitation
is a facilitative mechanism during which we approach a disabled person,
explaining that we are organising encounters where everybody is welcome
and diversity is valued. We gave some examples of what may happen during
the encounter and shared as much information as possible so that the
person receiving the invitation could form a good idea of what may
happen. At first glance this may seem simplistic, however, experience
has shown that for a disabled person, receiving an explicit invitation
is an atypical occurrence. The rare invitations they may receive are
impersonal invites to exclusive events – i.e. dedicated to disabled
people. As noted by Rhodes (2010), intentionality is a core mechanism of
social transformation. Some disability services we contacted said they
would mention to the people they serve, the possibility of joining in
our encounters. However, they offered no transport to get there, arguing
that the point of their interventions was to encourage disabled people
to participate in community life independently. We worked with people
with an Intellectual Disability and people on the Autistic Spectrum,
being amongst those responding to the Intentional Invitations .
Data collection: Participant observation and
interviews
Our data collection was designed to document the thoughts, attitudes and
behaviours that accompany such a collaborative experience. We paid
attention to the type of data that would uncover what may enable or
hinder attitude and behaviour shifts. Since some of these changes may
occur in ‘micro-interactions’, sometimes minute details buried in human
exchanges – we filmed participants’ interviews during encounters to
include verbal and non-verbal data, using the methodology documented by
Büscher (2005).