Abstract of K.A Johnson lecture


K.A. Johnson

FROM RESEARCH ABOUT US TO RESEARCH WITH US
K.A. Johnson


Norah Fry Research Centre University of BristolUK


This is a real adventure. Doing research. Taking photos. Drinking
coffee. Being a great team. (Gerard Minogue, self advocate 2007).
Gerard Minogue was one of a number of people with intellectual
disabilities in the Republic of Ireland who has become involved in
doing research about issues that are important to him and to other
people with intellectual disabilities. In this key note address I will
explore how he and others became involved in doing research, what it
meant to them and how it has developed over the past three years.
There are many different ways of ‘doing research with us, rather than
about us’ which is sometimes called inclusive research. In this
address I will explore some of the different models that have been
developed. As with any new approach there are some frequently
asked questions about inclusive research. These include: Why involve
people with intellectual disabilities as researchers? What is my role as
an ‘academic researcher’ in doing inclusive research? What does
being a researcher mean to people with intellectual disabilities? What
effect does it have on the quality of the research? My key note
address will explore these questions using a national inclusive
research project in the Republic of Ireland to show how inclusive
research can be both powerful for those involved in it and can lead to
broader social change. The key note address will also look at some of
the problems that we met in Ireland and how we tried to solve them.

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