People who lived in large learning disability institutions developed their own ways of resisting.... more People who lived in large learning disability institutions developed their own ways of resisting. Some of them did this through songs that they used to make up and sing. Some of the songs were about the nurses and some were about life on the wards or a better life outside. Some of them are funny and some of them are sad. Some show a great deal of anger. The songs were nearly lost because many of the people who lived in the institutions are becoming increasingly frail and dying. People with learning difficulties are no different from other groups of people who have used songs to help them resist
Until the very end of the twentieth century the history of learning difficulties was subsumed int... more Until the very end of the twentieth century the history of learning difficulties was subsumed into other histories, of psychiatry, of special education and, indeed, of disability. Initiatives to enable people with learning difficulties and their families to record their own histories and contribute to the historical record are both recent and powerful. Much of this work has been led or supported by The Open University’s Social History of Learning Disability Research (SHLD) group and its commitment to developing “inclusive history.” The article tells the story of the Madhouse Project in which actors with learning difficulties, stimulated by the story of historian activist Mabel Cooper and supported by the SHLD group, learned about and then offered their own interpretations of that history, including its present-day resonances. Through a museum exhibition they curated, and through an immersive theatre performance, the actors used the history of institutions to alert a wider public to the abuses of the past, and the continuing marginalization and exclusion of people with learning difficulties. This is an outstanding example of history’s potential to stimulate activism
Until the very end of the twentieth century the history of learning difficulties was subsumed int... more Until the very end of the twentieth century the history of learning difficulties was subsumed into other histories, of psychiatry, of special education and, indeed, of disability. Initiatives to enable people with learning difficulties and their families to record their own histories and contribute to the historical record are both recent and powerful. Much of this work has been led or supported by The Open University’s Social History of Learning Disability Research (SHLD) group and its commitment to developing “inclusive history.” The article tells the story of the Madhouse Project in which actors with learning difficulties, stimulated by the story of historian activist Mabel Cooper and supported by the SHLD group, learned about and then offered their own interpretations of that history, including its present-day resonances. Through a museum exhibition they curated, and through an immersive theatre performance, the actors used the history of institutions to alert a wider public to the abuses of the past, and the continuing marginalization and exclusion of people with learning difficulties. This is an outstanding example of history’s potential to stimulate activism
Until the very end of the twentieth century the history of learning difficulties was subsumed int... more Until the very end of the twentieth century the history of learning difficulties was subsumed into other histories, of psychiatry, of special education and, indeed, of disability. Initiatives to enable people with learning difficulties and their families to record their own histories and contribute to the historical record are both recent and powerful. Much of this work has been led or supported by The Open University’s Social History of Learning Disability Research (SHLD) group and its commitment to developing “inclusive history.” The article tells the story of the Madhouse Project in which actors with learning difficulties, stimulated by the story of historian activist Mabel Cooper and supported by the SHLD group, learned about and then offered their own interpretations of that history, including its present-day resonances. Through a museum exhibition they curated, and through an immersive theatre performance, the actors used the history of institutions to alert a wider public to the abuses of the past, and the continuing marginalization and exclusion of people with learning difficulties. This is an outstanding example of history’s potential to stimulate activism
Global Perspectives on Disability Activism and Advocacy, 2019
This chapter is jointly written by two academics from the Social History of Learning Disability R... more This chapter is jointly written by two academics from the Social History of Learning Disability Research Group based at The Open University and performers from London-based learning disability theatre company Access All Areas. Inspired by the life and legacy of Mabel Cooper (1944-2013), the chapter describes how we worked together as part of a collaborative advocacy and activism programme. The aim of the project its to raise public awareness and debate on the effects that isolation and confinement have on the bodies and minds of people with learning disabilities. The project also seeks to question whether the closure of long-stay hospitals has ended institutionalisation or if isolation at home has similar mental and physical effects.
International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 2021
ABSTRACT While there have been significant developments in the field of inclusive research with p... more ABSTRACT While there have been significant developments in the field of inclusive research with people with learning disabilities, there is limited knowledge about the ways inclusive research teams have conducted participatory data analysis. The authors argue this is inherently tied to the sensitivities involved in the inclusive research process. In this article, we present the experiences of two inclusive research teams (from the UK and Australia) who developed ways of working together to collaborate on data analysis. Both studies touched upon sensitive topics and crossed disciplinary boundaries. One was an evaluation of a series of history workshops with young people with learning disabilities; the other was an exploration of effective models of peer support for parents with learning disabilities. The authors explore different approaches to data analysis in inclusive research teams, and reflect on the politics of ‘sensitive’ research in this field, especially in relation to expectations of funders, ethics committees, and stakeholders.
Background: History starts from where we are nowit is not just things that happened a long time a... more Background: History starts from where we are nowit is not just things that happened a long time ago. The global pandemic began in 2019. It has changed the lives of people with learning disabilities. We began our project during the first lockdown in April 2020. We came together to set up a website to collect stories and support and learn from each other about how to survive and keep strong. Storytelling is very important because it helps us understand what is going on. It is also a way to capture the history of people with learning disabilities at a very difficult time. We know that thousands of people with learning disabilities became ill and died in the flu epidemic of 1918. But nobody recorded their stories in their own words. We want to make sure this does not happen again, so we created an archive to help us remember. Methods: The project was managed with an advisory group of people with and without learning disabilities who met monthly to monitor the collection and analysis of stories on the site. A site audit was performed regularly to determine the themes in the stories and who had submitted. The article describes the progress of the project, the stories we have shared, and the challenges we have faced. Conclusions: We discuss how people with learning disabilities have been presented in the media and our views about the way we are not heard, or always shown as vulnerable victims. We have found many sad stories, but also positive ones about people being creative and supportive. We look forward to the future and share our ideas about how society could be different and more inclusive. Being part of this project has given us confidence to know we are not alone, and shown us how we can help with the recovery.
Belonging for People with Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities, 2020
Enabling people with profound and multiple learning disabilities to belong in public and communit... more Enabling people with profound and multiple learning disabilities to belong in public and community archive collections. In: Nind, Melanie and Strnadová, Iva eds. Belonging for People with Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities: Pushing the Boundaries of Inclusion. London: Routledge, pp. 176-195. For guidance on citations see FAQs.
People who lived in large learning disability institutions developed their own ways of resisting.... more People who lived in large learning disability institutions developed their own ways of resisting. Some of them did this through songs that they used to make up and sing. Some of the songs were about the nurses and some were about life on the wards or a better life outside. Some of them are funny and some of them are sad. Some show a great deal of anger. The songs were nearly lost because many of the people who lived in the institutions are becoming increasingly frail and dying. People with learning difficulties are no different from other groups of people who have used songs to help them resist
Until the very end of the twentieth century the history of learning difficulties was subsumed int... more Until the very end of the twentieth century the history of learning difficulties was subsumed into other histories, of psychiatry, of special education and, indeed, of disability. Initiatives to enable people with learning difficulties and their families to record their own histories and contribute to the historical record are both recent and powerful. Much of this work has been led or supported by The Open University’s Social History of Learning Disability Research (SHLD) group and its commitment to developing “inclusive history.” The article tells the story of the Madhouse Project in which actors with learning difficulties, stimulated by the story of historian activist Mabel Cooper and supported by the SHLD group, learned about and then offered their own interpretations of that history, including its present-day resonances. Through a museum exhibition they curated, and through an immersive theatre performance, the actors used the history of institutions to alert a wider public to the abuses of the past, and the continuing marginalization and exclusion of people with learning difficulties. This is an outstanding example of history’s potential to stimulate activism
Until the very end of the twentieth century the history of learning difficulties was subsumed int... more Until the very end of the twentieth century the history of learning difficulties was subsumed into other histories, of psychiatry, of special education and, indeed, of disability. Initiatives to enable people with learning difficulties and their families to record their own histories and contribute to the historical record are both recent and powerful. Much of this work has been led or supported by The Open University’s Social History of Learning Disability Research (SHLD) group and its commitment to developing “inclusive history.” The article tells the story of the Madhouse Project in which actors with learning difficulties, stimulated by the story of historian activist Mabel Cooper and supported by the SHLD group, learned about and then offered their own interpretations of that history, including its present-day resonances. Through a museum exhibition they curated, and through an immersive theatre performance, the actors used the history of institutions to alert a wider public to the abuses of the past, and the continuing marginalization and exclusion of people with learning difficulties. This is an outstanding example of history’s potential to stimulate activism
Until the very end of the twentieth century the history of learning difficulties was subsumed int... more Until the very end of the twentieth century the history of learning difficulties was subsumed into other histories, of psychiatry, of special education and, indeed, of disability. Initiatives to enable people with learning difficulties and their families to record their own histories and contribute to the historical record are both recent and powerful. Much of this work has been led or supported by The Open University’s Social History of Learning Disability Research (SHLD) group and its commitment to developing “inclusive history.” The article tells the story of the Madhouse Project in which actors with learning difficulties, stimulated by the story of historian activist Mabel Cooper and supported by the SHLD group, learned about and then offered their own interpretations of that history, including its present-day resonances. Through a museum exhibition they curated, and through an immersive theatre performance, the actors used the history of institutions to alert a wider public to the abuses of the past, and the continuing marginalization and exclusion of people with learning difficulties. This is an outstanding example of history’s potential to stimulate activism
Global Perspectives on Disability Activism and Advocacy, 2019
This chapter is jointly written by two academics from the Social History of Learning Disability R... more This chapter is jointly written by two academics from the Social History of Learning Disability Research Group based at The Open University and performers from London-based learning disability theatre company Access All Areas. Inspired by the life and legacy of Mabel Cooper (1944-2013), the chapter describes how we worked together as part of a collaborative advocacy and activism programme. The aim of the project its to raise public awareness and debate on the effects that isolation and confinement have on the bodies and minds of people with learning disabilities. The project also seeks to question whether the closure of long-stay hospitals has ended institutionalisation or if isolation at home has similar mental and physical effects.
International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 2021
ABSTRACT While there have been significant developments in the field of inclusive research with p... more ABSTRACT While there have been significant developments in the field of inclusive research with people with learning disabilities, there is limited knowledge about the ways inclusive research teams have conducted participatory data analysis. The authors argue this is inherently tied to the sensitivities involved in the inclusive research process. In this article, we present the experiences of two inclusive research teams (from the UK and Australia) who developed ways of working together to collaborate on data analysis. Both studies touched upon sensitive topics and crossed disciplinary boundaries. One was an evaluation of a series of history workshops with young people with learning disabilities; the other was an exploration of effective models of peer support for parents with learning disabilities. The authors explore different approaches to data analysis in inclusive research teams, and reflect on the politics of ‘sensitive’ research in this field, especially in relation to expectations of funders, ethics committees, and stakeholders.
Background: History starts from where we are nowit is not just things that happened a long time a... more Background: History starts from where we are nowit is not just things that happened a long time ago. The global pandemic began in 2019. It has changed the lives of people with learning disabilities. We began our project during the first lockdown in April 2020. We came together to set up a website to collect stories and support and learn from each other about how to survive and keep strong. Storytelling is very important because it helps us understand what is going on. It is also a way to capture the history of people with learning disabilities at a very difficult time. We know that thousands of people with learning disabilities became ill and died in the flu epidemic of 1918. But nobody recorded their stories in their own words. We want to make sure this does not happen again, so we created an archive to help us remember. Methods: The project was managed with an advisory group of people with and without learning disabilities who met monthly to monitor the collection and analysis of stories on the site. A site audit was performed regularly to determine the themes in the stories and who had submitted. The article describes the progress of the project, the stories we have shared, and the challenges we have faced. Conclusions: We discuss how people with learning disabilities have been presented in the media and our views about the way we are not heard, or always shown as vulnerable victims. We have found many sad stories, but also positive ones about people being creative and supportive. We look forward to the future and share our ideas about how society could be different and more inclusive. Being part of this project has given us confidence to know we are not alone, and shown us how we can help with the recovery.
Belonging for People with Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities, 2020
Enabling people with profound and multiple learning disabilities to belong in public and communit... more Enabling people with profound and multiple learning disabilities to belong in public and community archive collections. In: Nind, Melanie and Strnadová, Iva eds. Belonging for People with Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities: Pushing the Boundaries of Inclusion. London: Routledge, pp. 176-195. For guidance on citations see FAQs.
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