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Inquiry cantos: poetics of developmental disability
1Vermont Self-Determination Project, Weeks Building, 103 S. Main St., Waterbury, VT 05641, USA. psmith@ddmhs.state.vt.us
Mental Retardation
|November 17, 2001
Summary
Postmodern approaches challenge traditional research on developmental disabilities. Alternative formats like poetry and fiction offer complex, plural understandings of disability, informed by self-advocate experiences of control and power.
Area of Science:
- Disability Studies
- Sociology of Health and Illness
- Qualitative Research Methods
Background:
- Modern, positivist research paradigms are increasingly critiqued by postmodern thought, particularly concerning individuals labeled with developmental disabilities.
- This critique influences how developmental disability is conceptualized and constructed within societal frameworks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore how postmodern perspectives can reshape understandings of developmental disability.
- To examine the use of alternative textual formats in disability studies research.
- To analyze self-advocates' constructions of choice, control, and power.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative research methodology was employed.
- Analysis of alternative textual formats (poetry, fiction) representing multiple subjectivities.
- Examination of a recent qualitative research project involving self-advocates.
Main Results:
- Postmodern approaches facilitate a move away from essentialist views of developmental disability.
- Alternative texts provide nuanced and pluralistic representations of lived experiences.
- Self-advocates' narratives highlight complex constructions of choice, control, and power.
Conclusions:
- Disability studies scholars are adopting innovative textual strategies to challenge conventional research.
- Alternative formats offer richer, more complex understandings of developmental disability.
- This approach fosters a more inclusive and critical discourse on disability and self-determination.