Mark, you wrote:
>So in my own work with brain injury survivors, we have applied these
>concepts in the following ways:
>
>* We discuss our history of individual and collective struggles
> for a better life, as well as common physical and social
> experiences. This is where agency is most apparent...
> in everything from little things (like working hard for months
> just to be able to feed yourself, just so you can have control
> of that part of your life), to wider issues of becoming self
> advocates and challenging professional dominance.
>
>* We have discussed the ways in which our experiences of
> disability are influenced by cultural concepts of normality,
> and other cultural factors which devalue disabled people.
>
>* We have looked at the local issues which have influenced our
> agency (such as lack of funding, the historically low levels
> of spending on social welfare issues in our state, etc)
>
>* We have identified constraints on our agency (such as medical
> dominance, lack of funding etc)
I'm interested in knowing more, Mark.
How did you approach these discussions? I'd like to hear the
nitty-gritty nuts-and-bolts of what you did. So I can apply your ideas
to *my* work with brain injury survivors-- and, perhaps, in work with
other cognitively disabled self-advocates (we have a state-wide People
First network here in Victoria).
- Ria
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Ria Strong
Melbourne, Australia
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