People with intellectual disabilities as researchers. Discussions, challenges and possibilities of inclusive research

Abstract

In the last two decades, an approach to social an educational research, called, inclusive research (Walmsley and Johnson, 2003), has been developed, especially in the Anglo-Saxon context. This approach promotes the participation of people with intellectual disabilities in research, either as advisors, as co-researchers, or as leaders and promoters of research on issues that affect them. This development has occurred as a result of the progressive implementation of the social model of disability analysis and the emergence of self-advocacy groups who have gained prominence following the release of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006). This article introduces some methodological debates generated by the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities in decision-making processes on research, and proposes the main discussions and challenges that inclusion posed, especially from the methodological point of view. The main debates are related to the participation of people with intellectual disabilities in research and their support needs, their representation in the research phases and equity relationships between researchers with and without disabilities. The methodological challenges arising from these discussions are around how to provide opportunities to participate, to be represented at different research stages and about ethical commitment of researchers without disabilities to ensure participation. Our analysis relies on inclusive research literature review and on the reflection about our own experience as researchers who have developed inclusive processes of research in recent years.