Disablement, Disability and the Nigerian Society

This paper seeks to examine the question of disability in developing countries, particularly Nigeria. Most of the diseases causing disabilities are preventable. Many of these are infections which could be prevented with medical care.

The perception of handicapping conditions by most Nigerians it is argued, are greatly influenced by myth and superstition, which in turn influences the negative attitude of people towards disabled people.

The lack of medical facilities has contributed to the spread of common diseases which otherwise would have been controlled or eradicated, as is the case in developed countries like Britain and America.

Rights of disabled people are emphasized. This includes the right to an education and the right of access into buildings. Fortunately, there are moves towards the attainment of these basic rights in various sectors, particularly the University of Jos which has the largest concentration of blind students in one single institution of higher learning.     

The Government of Disability: economics and power in welfare and work

The term government of disability refers to the ways that the lived experiences of people with accredited impairments are contextualised by economics and power in welfare and work. This paper explores how far a multiple perspective that develops a framework of the government of disability and the ontological ambiguity of impairment can take us towards contemporary understandings of disability, impairment and change in the UK.

The term the ontological ambiguity of impairment describes the ways that understandings of impairment have become more ambiguous, contributing to greater insecurities and fragmentation because of key changes in the government of disability. However, I argue that wider explanations of economic and power relationships are also necessary to develop a critical perspective of the contemporary government of disability, economics, and power in welfare and work.     

No African renaissance without disabled women: a communal approach to human development in Cape Town South Africa

The African Renaissance is upon us. Those who have eyes to see, let them see.

Disabled women who live in wooden shacks in the peri-urban areas of Khayelitsha in Cape Town, South Africa, participated in storytelling workshops over a two-and-a-half-year period. They shared experiences of what helped or hindered their social and economic development since becoming disabled. The workshops were part of a participatory action research (PAR) study of the Division of Occupational Therapy, University of Cape Town, together with Disabled People South Africa (DPSA) and the Zanempilo Health Trust [formerly South African Christian Leadership Assembly (SACLA) Primary Health Care Project].

The findings revealed the struggles and sadness, as well as the strengths and spirit that the women experienced within their every day context at an individual, family and community level. The women spoke strongly about meeting physical, emotional, and spiritual needs (human development) as the means to social and economic development.

The discussion reflects on the many paradoxes of disability encapsulated in the essence of interdependence of Ubuntu. Three themes discussed are building emotional resourcefulness: nurturing children and families in disability issues; and renewing spirituality and Ubuntu in disability and development programmes. In conclusion, managing the paradoxes of disability, the creation of a new individual and collective identity, and the capacity to change are proposed as the way forward.     

Changes in Medical Practice Towards the Child with Spina Bifida: Implications for Schools

Up to 15 years ago, Spina Bifida Cystica and its complications was the second most common physical handicap in childhood, but has declined in incidence, occurring about 5.9/10,000 births in the UK. Similar reductions have been noted in other parts of the world. Several different causes are responsible for the fewer numbers of children, but changes of surgical management known as selective treatment is particularly important.

The small number of children initially denied surgery tend to be severely physically handicapped and often intellectually impaired, but most children treated without delay are physically less disabled and often within the normal range of intelligence. Such improvements in status has resulted in more children attending ordinary schools though some may have subtle learning difficulties which should be systematically sought for. There will be a corresponding decrease in the number attending special schools.     

Working with Parents of Exceptional Children: The Need for More Careful Thought and More Positive Action

The majority of studies relating to families of handicapped children emphasise the negative emotions of the parents, particularly initial shock followed by guilt, chronic sorrow and anxiety. Rarely have these studies relied on the parents' assessments of their own reactions. As a consequence of this, there is little recognition in the relevant literature of either the wide range of parental reaction or the successful and satisfying adjustments which many parents make. A second important limitation in these studies is the absence of a theoretical framework either to test the occasional contradictions that can occur or arising out of the findings themselves.

As an alternative approach, it is suggested that a theoretical position could be developed from the concept of need recognising that the needs of the parents are distinct from those of their handicapped child, although usually consistent with them. An analysis of the research literature (Burden, 1981) has already identified five areas of need-the need for information, support, advice, access to resources and opportunities for social interaction.

It is recognised that the concept of need is a necessary but insufficient basis for an adequate theory. The notion of support coinciding with the parents' reaction to transitions in the child's life is offered as an additional factor in the family's successful adjustment. Three other variables are cited as affecting parental adjustment-individual differences in resistance to stress; the extent and nature of the child's disability and the tolerance of the community to that particular disability. In developing this theoretical framework, reference is made to some of the practical problems associated with the implementation of professional services.     

The Curriculum to Meet Special Educational Needs

The development of objectives-based curricula in special education has brought considerable benefits to the education of children with special educational needs. Schools can look to even greater successes as they become more experienced in using and modifying their curricula. In the integrationist climate, provision for children with special educational needs has become increasingly flexible.

The role of the special school is changing, and is developing a system of 'resource centres' to enable wider provisions for meeting pupils special educational needs in mainstream. Such development has created new and important challenges in the field of special education. The opportunities which objectives-based curricula extend through planned and structured teaching initiatives for pupils with special educational needs, are commensurate with the opportunities provided through integration.

The article draws attention to matters of particular concern for teachers meeting pupils' special educational needs, and highlights the aims and objectives critical to curriculum design.     

Concepts of access for people with learning difficulties: towards a shared understanding

This article explores both the process and outcomes of a seminar series on the concept of access for people with learning difficulties. The seminar topics chosen to foster dialogue across professional and disciplinary boundaries included access to information, education, employment, the law, health, leisure, community, past histories and future plans. The seminars brought together people with learning difficulties and their support workers, researchers and professionals, to examine the expert knowledge of people with learning difficulties in negotiating access, the role of practitioners in mediating access and the contribution of research to understanding access. The aim was to develop a rich, shared understanding of the concept of access for people with learning difficulties. However, a huge amount of ‘access work’ had to be done to achieve this. The article discusses that access work and proposes a multidimensional model of access and ways of promoting it.     

Contesting Practices, Challenging Codes: self advocacy, disability politics and the social model

This paper examines the relationship between Self Advocacy and the disability movement in Britain in the light of social movement theory. Using the concept of 'collective identity' as it is explored in social movement theory, the analysis examines why the disability movement's promotion of a strong disabled identity may be difficult to achieve for all its constituents, particularly people with learning difficulties. Additionally the concept of symbolic production within social movement theory is used to explore how the movement uses the social model of disability as its 'collective action frame'. It is argued realignment of this frame is taking place within the movement and is reflected in debates within Disability Studies about the role of impairment. The voices of people with learning difficulties remain silent in this debate. The paper concludes by arguing for the recognition of social, psychological and cognitive difference as pre-requisite to an inclusive theory and politics of disability.     

Stars are not Born: An Interpretive Approach to the Politics of Disability

The politics of disability are usually interpreted as attempts to influence government policy in the direction of reducing the negative effects of impairment. This paper enlarges that conventional notion to include attention to how the disabled subject is produced by the discursive practices within which disability is administered.

A summary of epistemological perspectives represented by contemporary social thought dealing with disability opens the discussion. Foucault's work is presented as the basis for interpreting recent social science literature on disability from a viewpoint which is sensitive to variations in epistemological presuppositions in that literature and to the political implications of each mode of research for the administration and treatment of disability.

A concluding section contains speculation on forms of political action which are relevant to the politics of disability at the constitutive level.     

Mental health support needs of people with a learning difficulty: a medical or a social model?

People with learning difficulties, like all disabled people, face social oppression. Much recent policy and practice are underpinned by at least some understanding of this oppression, and the social model of disability has been influential in discussions of services and supports for people with learning difficulties. However, in the area of mental health, the picture is somewhat different. This paper argues that the medical model has predominated in discussions of mental health support for people with learning difficulties, and that a social model approach could have much to offer. The paper draws on an ongoing action research study in which service providers, families and young people with learning difficulties are working together to articulate what is needed, in order to find routes to improve the support offered to young people with learning difficulties and mental health support needs.     

Normalisation, Emancipatory Research and Inclusive Research in Learning Disability

In this article I set out to trace the influence of two major sets of ideas: normalisation/srv, and the social model of disability on inclusive research in learning disability. The argument is that normalisation set the agenda for learning disability research for two or more decades. Inclusive researchers continue to apply normalisation thinking to work with people with learning difficulties, particularly in assuming the role of advocate - offering people the opportunity to take on valued social roles and assuming responsibility for promoting positive images. Latterly, a number of researchers have tried to rise to the challenges posed by emancipatory research, particularly in attempting to find ways to put people with learning difficulties in control. This illustrates the influence of thinking emanating from disability studies. However, the paper shows that whilst some ideas from emancipatory research have been applied in learning disability, there are debates in the disability literature that have not been addressed in learning disability research to date. The result is that inclusive research in learning disability is in danger of being marginalised, both in the context of disability studies and in the context of the broad sweep of learning disability research.     

Paradoxes, locations and the need for social coherence: a qualitative study of living with a learning difficulty

Policy rhetoric over recent decades has promoted social inclusion of the more vulnerable sectors of society, such as people with learning difficulties. This study aimed to describe the experiences of people who live with learning difficulties in order to inform local service development. Thirty-five people with a learning difficulty and/or a family member were interviewed. A model of social coherence was developed that moves beyond the self-limiting debates about social inclusion and exclusion. It is underpinned by a sense of location for the person with a disability in relation to services and carers, family and community, dependency and risk, temporality and space, events, control and society. Key recommendations are for services to know the individual and his/her family; to be responsive to individual needs; to enhance the capacity of families and communities to support people with difficulty in learning; and to help these people to feel more valued.     

Locating Self-advocacy in Models of Disability: understanding disability in the support of self-advocates with learning difficulties

Recent appraisals of self-advocacy groups of people with learning difficulties have tended to focus on the constitutional and structural facets of groups whilst failing to explicitly engage with disability theory. This paper explores different understandings of disability and examines how these are or can be implicated in the self-advocacy movement. First, the effects of the dominant individual or personal tragedy model of disability on self-advocacy will be examined with reference to the advisor's position. It is argued that if advisors hold such understandings of disability then they threaten to stifle the selfdetermination of self-advocates. Secondly, self-advocacy framed in terms of the alternative social model of disability will be presented. It is argued with reference to the advisor's role that self-advocacy is best understood and practised when it is grounded in this persuasion. Here, the views of self-advocates themselves are called upon. Finally, understanding self-advocacy in terms of the social model is taken further. It is suggested that self-advocates themselves directly challenge dominant understandings of disability in general and can contribute to the formulation of a social theory of disability.     

Reinterpreting learning difficulty: a professional and personal challenge?

I want to explore in this article the ways in which people with a learning difficulty are constructed in a number of ways as disabled, as limited, as being special, and so on. Constructions can also be utilised for different purposes – to ensure that they have effective levels of support and to elevate the status of people with a learning difficulty. Positive constructs may articulate an ‘accentuation of the positive’ as Goodley and Armstrong prescribed. However, whilst I agree with this sentiment, one echoed in Swain and French’s important formulation of an affirmative model of disability, and one that I have also espoused, professionally I also feel that my experience of working with people with learning difficulties makes me suspicious of generalised statements about people, even those deemed positive. This may be especially true in a period of financial rationalisation, where such constructs may seem inevitable in the fight for effective support for people with a learning difficulty.     

From Adolescence to Young Adulthood: the partnership challenge for learning disability services in England

The transition from adolescence to young adulthood is acknowledged to be difficult for all young people, but the problems facing those with a learning disability will tend to be greater. This article identifies these additional difficulties, and considers the extent to which new policy requirements and expectations in England can address them. At the heart of this new approach is the need for partnership working between a complex range of agencies and professionals. What is at stake is not only a better system of support for some vulnerable young people, but also—in microcosm—the viability of partnership working as a policy tool for addressing complex issues.     

Just Say 'No'? Alcohol and People with Learning Difficulties

This paper analyses critically the scant literature which exists on the role of alcohol in the lives of people with learning difficulties. Though the research evidence is largely insecure, it does seem relatively clear that people with learning difficulties drink considerably less and abstain in higher numbers than the general population. In spite of this, the literature is predominantly characterised by a focus on the potential dangers of excessive alcohol consumption. In contrast, the possibility that a great many people with learning difficulties may have their access to alcohol debarred is not considered to be a problem requiring attention. It is argued that this is based on a failure to appreciate the cultural significance of alcohol for most people, and that the discourse on learning difficulties is being underpinned by a concern with physical, but not cultural access.     

Women with Disabilities: Abortion and Liberation

In this, the United Nations Decade of the Disabled, much is being done to improve the lives of those with disabilities, and to enable them to participate as equals in the everyday life of their communities.

At the same time, however, more and more technological 'advances' are being deployed to detect handicap in the unborn, with the aim of killing as many of them as possible before birth.

Feminists, though accustomed to fighting for the emancipation of women, are failing to address this incongruous situation, and the double discrimination faced by women with disabilities. This is partly due to the fact that they tend to regard abortion as an unequivocal 'right'.

I will argue that far from being a right, abortion underlines women's oppression and is counter-productive to women in general, and to disabled women in particular.     

Subversive political praxis: supporting choice, power and control for people with learning difficulties

This paper is drawn from research conducted with gay and bisexual men with learning difficulties, a project that included participants' various struggles to self-identify within these alternative sexualities. Significant parts of this identity work were mitigated by participation in what is referred to here as 'politically radical support groups'. Three facilitators of these groups, professionals in the areas of sex education, were interviewed and a common itinerary was uncovered, namely a subversive and political praxis. At its heart, such praxis argues that educational endeavours for people with learning difficulties must not only account for disabling practices, but more importantly, maximally prioritise the mitigation of such prejudice within educational activities. Furthermore, it is argued that political praxis is not merely theoretical; six practical strategies are offered. In these ways, caregivers are offered concrete approaches to (genuinely) support the choice, power and control for people with learning difficulties.     

Room at the academy? People with learning difficulties and higher education

This article considers the contributions of people with learning difficulties to an undergraduate degree programme in Learning Disability Studies at the University of Manchester. It begins with an evaluation of models of disability and their implications for the study and production of knowledge about learning disability. It then goes on to explore the role of people with learning difficulties—and the place of their experiences and knowledges—both on the Learning Disability Studies programme and within the academy. Drawing on the experience of the Learning Disability Studies programme, it argues for the inclusion of people with learning difficulties in learning, teaching and research.