Reflexivity and participation in communities

Basic and specific
aspects of participation in relation to
disability

Consideration to the international and national legal framework of the rights of people with
disability: UN “Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons” (https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments- mechanisms/instruments/declaration-rights- disabled-persons).

Practical consequences for social work of regarding
disability as a “social construct”:
- Co-construction of knowledge (“People First” motto: “nothing about us without us”
- Going beyond individual orientation in interventions to reach structural level
- Recognising multi-perspectivity

Importance of the social model of disability: “the subjective meanings individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) attribute to their own lives, their dreams and their aspirations continue, in many cases, are being ignored” (Neuman, 2020)

Critical questions regarding participation and disability:
“Are the participatory frameworks in policy discourses and academic literature truly meaningful for all people with disability or older adults?
Is participation simply a matter of personal will and choice or are there also structural and practical barriers to universal access?
And finally, how does the encouragement of participative practices in old age impact the experiences and identities of older people with disabilities?” (Raymond & Grenier, 2014, 51).

Participation needs to be conceptualised and applied as fluid and multifaceted:
“The meaning that a person with disability attaches to her participation is multifaceted and has a capacity to change over time as well as in everyday situations, depending on how these play out… If the lived experience of participation is more to be seen as a verb, something you do, then the core of assessment shifts from measurement to active collaboration and dialogue”. (Lilja & Josephsson, 2017, 38).

What direct experiences of encounters with people with disability do I have?

To what extent can I consider my own abilities to be limited?

What are the main factors why people with disability are not
prominently presented in public debates / events?

In which areas did people with disability gain
greater visibility and voice recently?

Priorities set by people with disability
according to research

Study of research findings

1. Self-determination: “participation was not only framed as ‘success’, ‘independence’ or ‘fulfilment’, as contemporary discourses may
suggest, but the possibility of making choices about how they would participate in society” (Raymond & Grenier, 2014, 54).

2. Inclusive environments: “Research draws attention to the importance of shifting responsibility for inclusive practices to society, rather than onto the individual. Yet, despite this need for a societal solution, some research participants held an individual responsibility for their integration”. (ibid., 56)

3. Identity integration / intersectionality: “Participants alluded to at least three identity postures grounded in the connexion of ageing and disability: that of older citizens who are equal to others, that of long-term activists struggling for social justice and that of persons who are living the tensions between ageing and ageing with a disability” (ibid. 57).

Which of these priorities set by people with disability coincide with core social work principles, which go beyond them?

How do you understand intersectionality and the importance of identity policies in relation to disability?

The social model of disability: focused on the critique of oppressive practices

The rights approach stresses the role of legal instruments in protecting the well-being of people with disabilities

The developmental approach is associated with the integration of people with disabilities into the social and economic life of the community and goes beyond offering “individualised solutions”

The participative turn:

The rights-based, developmental approach

1. emphasizes the leadership of people with disabilities and their organizations in campaigning for rights, services, and opportunities. It also recognizes their right to self determination and to be protected against discrimination.,

2. a rights-based, developmental approach places emphasis on community living and seeks to normalize living arrangements of people with disabilities.

3. To promote economic and social integration, it requires social investments that ensure the acquisition of educational qualifications and skills that facilitate the full participation of people with disabilities in the productive economy. (Knapp & Midgley, 2010, 94)

The ”Dare to Dream” Project (Neuman, & Bryen, 2022). See below

How do you understand the interaction of the “material” and the “constructed” aspects of disability in your approach to
intervention?

Beyond which threshold does the application of a “rights approach” problematic in relation to work with people with disabilities)