** OPEN SEMINAR**
“Disability, Discourse and Community Psychology”: The 1st Seminar
John Dalton Building, Manchester Metropolitan University, Room E29, 6th July 2007, 10.30 - 3.30pm
This seminar - a collaboration between Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of East London - brings together colleagues interested in exploring how ideas associated with critical, discursive and community psychologies relate to the development of a critical and emancipatory disability studies. This first seminar pitches debate in a number of arenas. If you are interested in attending please email Dan Goodley ([log in to unmask]) and Mark Rapley ([log in to unmask]).
PROGRAMME
Session, Presenter, Paper
10am, Arrival , Coffee and tea
10.30am-11am, Dan Goodley and Rebecca Lawthom (Manchester Metropolitan University)
Introducing the day: What are the potentials and pitfalls of disability studies engaging with psychology?
11 - 11.30, Manuel Aramayo (Central University of Venezuela)
Disability studies in Venezuela: dilemmas and concerns
11.30 - 12noon, Mark Rapley (University of East London)
Negotiating competence in group homes for people with intellectual disability
12 - 12.30, Stephen Lee Hodgkins (University of Northampton)
'At any time: including disabled'. Using a community psychology approach to present disability discourse to a local authority as part of the
Disability Equality Duty.
12.30 - 1pm, LUNCH
1 - 1.30pm , Brett Smith (University of Exeter)
Encountering chaos: Exploring responses to a spinal cord injury narrative
1-30 - 2pm, Hollie Rawson and Susan Hansen (Nottingham Trent University)
"Because I'm a teenager": The management of multiple social identities by
young people with Down's Syndrome
2-2.30pm, Cassie Ogden (University of Central Lancashire),
‘It made me feel a bit dirty’; children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), disabling social attitudes and the potential of critical pedagogies.
2.30 - 3pm Alberto Corizzo (Manchester Metropolitan University)
Exploring the experiences of services users
3,30 - 4pm, Margrit Shildrick, (Queen’s University Belfast),
++awaiting abstract ++
4pm Departure and tea / coffee,
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ABSTRACTS
‘It made me feel a bit dirty’; children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), disabling social attitudes and the potential of critical pedagogies.
Dr. Cassie Ogden , Department of Nursing, University of Central Lancashire, Preston.PR1 2HE
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a chronic disease of the digestive system affecting children of any age. Symptoms include failure to thrive, diarrhoea, stomach cramps, fatigue, and loss of appetite. Research has shown that compared to children with other chronic illness and ‘healthy’ peers, children with IBD suffer more from depression and anxiety (Engstrom, 1992). Narrative interviews conducted with a boy aged 11 and his mother and a girl aged 13, highlighted how socially embarrassing the symptoms of IBD can be and it is hypothesised that if the socially disabling attitudes of society were changed, children with IBD could be less depressed and anxious. Exploration of the use of critical pedagogies to help challenge prevailing social attitudes towards the disease are needed, with the intention of ultimately alleviating the disabling attitudes children with IBD are currently subject to.
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'At any time: including disabled'. Using a community psychology
approach to present disability discourse to a local authority as part of the
Disability Equality Duty.
Stephen Lee Hodgkins ([log in to unmask]), Michael
Shamash ([log in to unmask]) and Sid Baility ([log in to unmask]).
-dito - disability information training opportunity, East London.
This presentation details research work carried out by a
community disability organisation (dito) as part of a recent disability
equality consultation exercise. The project was commissioned by the London
Borough of Tower Hamlets Local Authority and the final report was used to
produce a 'Disability Equality Duty Scheme'. A series of discussion groups
and interviews involving local disabled people were audio recorded.
Extracts from the text transcriptions were used to produce a consultation
document and were organised under critical thematic headings. The actual
research method is explored to highlight its potential for future
consultation work of this type. The presentation further considers
critical issues and tensions concerning legislative and professional agendas
as well as the representation of 'disabled people' and 'disability equality'
arising as part of the project. Finally, the work is discussed in terms of
its alignment to community psychology and the consideration of everyday
living issues of concern to the disabled body.
++++++++++
Encountering chaos: Exploring responses to a spinal cord injury narrative
Brett Smith, Qualitative Research Unit, School of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Exeter, E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Against the backdrop of the narrative turn, this paper explores people’s reactions to a chaos story told by a man who experienced a spinal cord injury (SCI) and became disabled though playing the sport of rugby football union. Two reactions are singled out for attention. These are the therapy narrative response and the consolation narrative response. It is argued that these different reactions do things. They do things by making, explicitly or implicitly, contesting value claims as to what counts: what is taken seriously and what action is thought to be required in order to get out of a chaos narrative. The paper closes by offering some critical reflections on each response.
Services users: Are they the strongest or the weakest link?
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Services users: Are they the strongest or the weakest link?
Alberto Corizzo School of Health, Psychology & Social Care Manchester Metropolitan University
Elizabeth Gaskell Campus, Hathersage Road, Manchester, M13 0JA [log in to unmask]
One of the purposes of this research undertaken in one locality of the North West of England has been explore whether the local authorities promote independence among service users. By applying a model developed by Gignac & Cott (1998), the researcher worked in partnership with people with one long term condition in order to explore whether services users received more support than required (authority imposed dependence) or on the contrary, did not partially or totally receive the level of support needed for their daily life (authority not promoting independence).
The research preliminary’s findings indicated that the statutory sector is not promoting independence among the services users.
The initial assumption that service users are at the heart of social policy formulation lead the researcher to commence this study based on inaccurate premises. Particularly, the researcher observed that the local authorities did not appear to take into account their clients’ point of view when formulating future plans in the service provision. Despite the ‘politically’ correct discourse, it is bureaucrats who ignore their real clients’ needs the ones that take decisions. The situation described above may take place as most of the service users lack information and ignore their rights. The local voluntary sector which is meant to fight for their members’ well being, end up feeling lured by the imaginary sharing of power when invited to meetings with the local authorities. The unfortunate result is that service users are neglected by both the statutory and voluntary sector. For some of the reasons mentioned above, it is suggested that service users are the weakest link with the rights and potential to be the strongest ones. Despite this discouraging framework, proposals such as services users conscientisation, authorities empowering service users and politician effective representation are suggested to be the way to change the current status quo.
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"Because I'm a teenager": The management of multiple social identities by young people with Down's Syndrome
Hollie Rawson & Susan Hansen, Division of Psychology, Nottingham Trent
University, Burton Street, Nottingham, NG1 4BU. [log in to unmask]
Past research has suggested that having a learning disability can result in a dominating and stigmatising identity, often leading to denial or disavowal of the label, which in turn implies a degree of social incompetence. However this paper proposes otherwise. Data was collected from an interview and a focus group session with young people with Down's syndrome, and analysed using discursive psychology, including membership categorisation analysis. The analysis shows that young people with learning disabilities not only hold a solid understanding of disability and its social implications, but also demonstrate a competent and sophisticated ability to manage multiple social identities alternative to that of intellectually disabled, in and according to, interaction.
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Disability Studies and Psychology:
Emancipatory possibilities (or, should disability studies get into bed with psychology?)
Dan Goodley and Rebecca Lawthom
Both at Manchester Metropolitan University, Research Institute of Health and Social Change, Division of Psychology and Social Change, Elizabeth Gaskell, Manchester.
Following on from recent work by the authors (e.g. Goodley and Lawthom, 2005a, 2005b; Lawthom and Goodley, 2005) this paper considers the possibilities of bringing together emancipatory disability studies and psychology. First, we provide an overview of British disability studies and pay particular attention to the need to politicise and theorise ‘impairment’ and ‘disability’. Second, we consider populist and mainstream views of psychology and suggest that behind the pop-labels exists an exciting and potentially radical discipline. The history of psychology is peppered by radical collectives and individuals challenging the (disabling) status quo. Third, some of this radicalism by asking what may be of use to the development of an emancipatory disability studies. We point to three key paradigmatic battles - if not exactly paradigm shifts - where the status and role of psychological knowledge and practice have been thrown open to debate and critique:
1. the crisis in social psychology;
2. the rise of critical theories;
3. the growing influence of community psychology
We draw upon these debates to demonstrate some of the ways in which disability studies scholars and activists can engage in radical, emancipatory and trans-disciplinary work. We identify nine radical trans-disciplinary possibilities.
AWAITING ABSTRACTS
Rapley
Shildrick
______________________________
Professor Dan Goodley
Manchester Metropolitan University
Research Institute for Health and Social Change
Division of Psychology and Social Change
Elizabeth Gaskell Campus
Hathersage Road
Manchester
M13 0JA
Tel: (+44) 0161 247 2000
Fax: (+44) 0161 247 6842
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
http://www.rihsc.mmu.ac.uk/
For details of recently completed research projects and related research activities, please visit:
http://www.shef.ac.uk/disabledbabies/
http://www.shef.ac.uk/jobsnotcharity/
http://www.shef.ac.uk/applieddisabilitystudies/
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