Associations for disabled people in Italy: A pedagogical exploration

This article offers an overview on the studies and research carried out and coordinated by the author on the Italian phenomenon of associations for the disabled and their families, through both historical–sociological and pedagogical analyses. Combining methodological elements of both historical recognition and qualitative/quantitative analysis, the present research aims to highlight the role of advocacy played by the associations since they were established, and their contribution to determining the historical and political events that, beginning in the 1970s, have characterized the Italian methodology for educational and social integration. What emerges is how family associations have contributed to the civic development and social-political change of the entire country. The pedagogical approach to the associationist phenomenon becomes part of the cultural process by which parenting is valued and enables prejudices that some of the literature, with a sociological and psychodynamic matrix, had previously generated in regard to the conditions of families with a disabled member to be overcome. Thus, the fundamental contribution of the associations is clearly understood, both in the reorganisation of services for the person and in the realization of care areas, relational enrichment, cultural and organisational stimulation during the development and promotion of the integration process for disabled people. Starting with the needs of the latter, the role of the associations as subjects promoting citizenship and innovators for the entire society seems equally obvious. However, it must be also emphasized that lately the associationist phenomenon has been facing a period of evolution in its internal organization related to the changes that have occurred in the recent welfare policies dictating further investigation and consideration.     

Empowerment through care: Using dialogue between the social model of disability and an ethic of care to redraw boundaries of independence and partnership between disabled people and services

Our approach – empowerment through care – emerges from dialogue between social model understandings of empowerment and ethic of care based understandings of care. Whilst maintaining the principles underpinning empowerment as a challenge to disabling practice within health, social care and voluntary sector organisations, empowerment through care challenges a rejection of “care” as necessarily oppressive. We emphasise that relationships characterised by Tronto's (1993) elements of care can facilitate individual empowerment by redrawing boundaries of independence and partnership between people accessing support, professionals and the organisations within which they operate. Alongside a theoretical argument for our approach, we draw upon empirical evidence from two practice-based settings. Both settings demonstrate the importance of relational autonomy, based on Tronto's framework, in realising service imperatives rooted in empowerment. We also draw upon seminar discussion data, which demonstrates a pathway to empowerment: beginning with the individual, rooted in dialogue and embedded in whole organisations. Our approach establishes fresh ways for disabled people and services to work together in establishing innovative approaches to support and relationships at all levels of services.     

Rethinking disability: Lessons from the past,questions for the future. Contributions and limits of the social model,the sociology of science and technology,and the ethics of care

In this article, I analyze one evolution in disability research over the past 30 years: the shift from an individual to a social approach to disability. While most disability research has currently “socialized” disability or at the least situates disabled people within a social context, not all do so in the same way nor based on the same assumptions. They lead to different concepts of the person and society and different concepts of disability and normalcy. I analyze this evolution by looking at three approaches to disability: the social model, the approach taken in the sociology of science and technology, and the ethics of care. I show how each, by renewing the analysis of disability, has brought about changes for disabled people and transformed ways of “living together” and “making society”. I also show the limits of these approaches and propose lines of thought for the continuation of our research, notably around the question of autonomy. I propose that we re-think autonomy from the standpoint of the notion of “recalcitrance”.     

Colonialism and disability: The situation of blind people in colonised Algeria

Our article analyses the mode of assistance to the blind in Algeria from the beginning of the 20th century until the Declaration of Independence of the country (1962). If Muslim blinds face discriminatory practices, all the blind – French citizens and subjects – are victims of unequal treatment because they are not entitled to the social measures granted to the blind in metropolitan France. Nevertheless, during the first decades of the 20th century many actors travel between metropolitan France and the Algerian colony and introduce on the Algerian territory innovating practices developed in France (Braille schools for the blind, eye clinics, promotion of manual work). They thus disrupt traditional practices of assistance to the blind, which are intrinsically related to Islam. Moreover, we want to underline the agency of the blind in the context of colonial Algeria, since blind association leaders take part in the colonial policy making of assistance to the blind. From the 1930's, they start to claim the equality of rights of the blind of Algeria with those of metropolitan France. This research allows to reflect on the construction of the citizenship of the blind in a colonial context.     

Organisational environment and challenging behaviour in services for people with intellectual disabilities: A review of the literature

Background

This literature review explores the relationship between the organisational environment of residential disability services and challenging behaviour in people with intellectual disabilities (ID) using Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory as a theoretical framework.

Hybrid structures and cultural diversity in welfare services for people with intellectual disabilities. The case of inclusive education and disability arts in Sweden

In this article, I deal with the professional and ethical implications within welfare organizations that are characterized by having what I refer to as a hybrid structure in inclusive education and disability arts in Sweden. The article is predominantly theoretical in its character and excerpts from empirical research are used primarily as illustrations of the theoretical issues and themes addressed. Empirical data was collected using qualitative research interviews and a digital web survey. The article suggests that hybrid structures carry both opportunities and threats, as such structures expose (welfare-) organizations to different sets of values and expectations. Both inclusive education and disability arts are constituted by somewhat antagonistic institutional logics. It is argued that this may cause professional ambiguity, considering that institutional logics inform the organizations about what is appropriate in relation to the daily work, e.g. aims, methods, ambitions, and professional relations. An important implication for further research is how teachers and school organizations, as well as cultural workers within social work organizations, deal with the risk of people with ID being stigmatized—through labelling, differentiation, or compensatory arrangements—without failing to address the fact that some individuals have, and always will have, special needs due to their ID.     

Bridging the gap: The intersection of entrustability and perceived autonomy for surgical residents in the OR

Background

Faculty entrustment decisions affect resident entrustability behaviors and surgical autonomy. The relationship between entrustability and autonomy is not well understood. This pilot study explores that relationship.

The employment policy and vocational activity support system for people with intellectual disabilities in Poland

This short report discusses issues related to the employment policy and vocational activity support system for people with intellectual disabilities in Poland. The analyses are based on data from a broader research project entitled Employment and Disability. The reconstruction of the Vocational Experience of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities in Poland. The project sought to explore the work-related situation of persons with intellectual disabilities regarding the employment policy, support practices in workplaces, and vocational experience of employees with intellectual disabilities, their job coaches and the coordinators of employment projects. The methodological framework combined the grounded theory set in social constructivism, as presented in Charmaz's works, with discourse analysis and the sociologically-oriented analysis of practices. The data were collected in 25 workplaces employing persons with disabilities in various parts of Poland, mainly by means of in-depth interviews, observation, and field notes. Although analyses discussing the specificity of Polish employment policy indicate that the vocational activity of persons with intellectual disabilities is promoted in Poland, in reality its implementation is difficult. The difficulties result from the poor quality law regulating vocational activity, lack of adequate legislative solutions, barriers on the part of employers, and the absence of sufficient financial support.     

Considering the concepts of the lived body and the lifeworld as tools for better understanding the meaning of assistive technology in everyday life

The lives of individuals with physical or perceptual impairments are often filled with various objects that support daily activities and are generally referred to as assistive technologies. These are usually understood as objects relating to individuals’ functional capabilities. In this article, assistive technology is instead interpreted and explored in its subjective and social meaning by drawing on continental philosophy within a framework of lifeworld phenomenology and hermeneutics, putting forward existence, embodiment and the sociality of the lifeworld. The long cane as used by visually impaired and blind people is discussed as an example, based on results from two earlier empirical studies. Three themes or dimensions stood out in the analysis: one relating to intersubjectivity and the social world, another relating to embodiment and the lived space, and one in which the long cane is interpreted as a tool for building a new world. These dimensions have been discussed individually in philosophical terms to some degree. However, here they are intertwined and analysed based on empirical research on individuals in the process of learning or using the long cane in everyday life, which gives new meaning to the researched subject.