Hi there,
I work extensively in that area actually. The following are some sources that you might find useful, ranging from philosophical reflections/approaches to more empirical assessments, to particular quant tools. Key words you might use in addition to friendships/relationships that would yield things you want include: caring, inclusion, integration, well-being, quality of life (even though its now a controversial term) etc. Of course this is not a straightforward process or concept ... there is in particular a debate around 'who' are you deciding that those you work with ought to be friends with? Hingsburger has written of taking issue with "staff-client" friendships for ethical reasons, whereas someone like Clare Ungerson (sorry, can't find reference just now) - has written of the problematics of this for ethics and pragmatic/demands reasons. Others debate the disabled/non-disabled friend question and still others the question of the attitude through/on which the friendship is founded (charity/pity vs mutuality/equality) and so forth. Those are just a few thoughts. Let me know if you'd like any further explanation of the refs below and how I see them as connected. I listed my dissertation below in which chapter 7 is all about relationships between people with complex needs and those who support them, including a discussion of the power dynamic. I could send you that if you are interested, or see my website.
Good luck and feel free to call,
Pamela
Amado, A. N., Ed. (1993). Friendships and Community Connections Between People with and without Intellectual Disabilities. Baltimore, Paul H. Brookes Publishing co.
Amado, A. N. (1993). Working on Friendships. Friendships and Community Connections between people with and without developmental disabilities. A. N. Amado. Baltimore, Paul H. Brookes: 279-297.
Benner, P. E. (1994). Caring as a way of knowing and not knowing. The Crisis of Care. S. S. Phillips and P. E. Benner. Washington, Georgetown University Press: 42-62.
Bogdan, R. and S. J. Taylor (1992). The Social Construction of Humanness: Relationships with severely disabled people. Interpreting Disability: A Qualitative Reader. P. Ferguson, D. Ferguson and S. J. Taylor. New York, Teachers College Press: 275-94.
Brown, I., D. Raphael, et al., Eds. (1997). Quality of Life- Dream or Reality? Life for people with developmental disabilities in Ontario. Toronto, Centre for Health Promotion, University of Toronto.
Cushing, P. (2003). Shaping the Moral Imagination of Caregivers: Disability, Difference & Inequality in L'Arche. PhD thesis; Anthropology, McMaster University, Canada; (examiner: Robert Edgerton).
Cushing, P. and T. Lewis (2002). "Negotiating Mutuality and Agency in Care-giving Relationships with Women with Intellectual Disability." Hypatia Journal of Feminist Philosophy 17(3): 137-160.
Desjardins, M. (2000). Le Jardins d'Ombres: La poetique et la politique de la reeducation sociale. Anthropology. Montreal, Universite de Montreal: 250.
Hauerwas, S. (1986). Suffering Presence: Theological reflections on medicine, the mentally handicapped, and the church. Notre Dame, University of Notre Dame Press.
Hingsburger, D. (2001). Life, Death and Disability. Ideas. P. Kennedy. Toronto, CBC.
Hyrniuk, M. (2001). Growth in Communion: Spiritual Transformation in the Context of L'Arche. Division of Religion, Department of Person, Community, and Religious Practices, Emory University.
Lutfiya, Z. M. (1991). "A Feeling of Being Connected: Friendships between people with and without learning disabilities." Disability, Handicap and Society 6(3): 233-245.
Lutfiya, Z. M. (1993). When 'Staff' and 'Clients' Become Friends. Friendships and Community Connections Between People with and without Intellectual Disabilities. A. N. Amado. Baltimore, Paul H. Brookes Publishing: 97-108.
Mosteller, S., C.S.J. (1996). Body Broken, Body Blessed : Reflections from life in community. Ottawa, Novalis.
Murphy, R. (1990). The Body Silent. New York and London., W. W. Norton.
Pottie, C. (2001). Narrating Friendship: Reciprocal Relationships in L'Arche. Community Psychology. Wolfville, Acadia University.
Roeher Institute (1993). Social Well-being : A Paradigm for Reform. Toronto, Canada., Roeher Institute.
Taylor, S. J. and R. Bogdan (1989). "On Accepting Relationships between People with Mental Retardation and Non-disabled People: towards an understanding of acceptance." Disability, Handicap & Society 4(1): 21-36.
Vanier, J. (1998). Becoming Human. Toronto, Anansi.
Wuthnow, R. (1995). Learning to care : elementary kindness in an age of indifference. New York, Oxford University Press.
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P. J. Cushing, PhD
Cultural Anthropology
McMaster University, Canada
www.PamelaCushing.com
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