Critical psychologies of disability: boundaries, borders and bodies in the lives of disabled children

Abstract

Attending to the ways in which bodies and subjectivities are constituted in social environments is not simply a concern of social geographers but an emerging interest in critical psychology, childhood and disability studies. Curti and Moreno (2010) have argued that boundaries and borders are nothing if not the different relational and durational articulations of bodies and spaces. These entangled boundaries include borders between parent and child; culture and body; school, family and child.Through analysing the ways in which these borderlines are continually re-composed and re-constituted we are able, following Curti and Moreno, to reveal their relational and embodied articulations. In previous work we have explored the ways in which disabled children disrupt normative orders associated with school, family and community (Goodley and Runswick-Cole, 2012a). In this paper we take up the concepts of boundaries and borders to explore their relational and embodied articulations with specific reference to stories collected as part of an ESRC project entitled ÔDoes every child matter, Post-Blair: the interconnections of disabled childhoodsÕ. We ask, how do disabled children negotiate space in their lives? In what ways do they challenge space through their borders and boundaries with others? How can we re-imagine, re-think and differently practice Ð that is revolutionize Ð key borders and boundaries of education in ways that affirm the lives of disabled children? We address these questions through reference to the narrative from the Derbyshire family, with particular focus on Hannah and her mother Linda, which we argue allow us consider the ways in which disabled childhoods can be understood and reimagined. We explore two analytical considerations; ÔBeing disabled: being muggedÕ and ÔBecoming enabled: teacups, saucers and communitiesÕ.2

Debates about dedifferentiation: twenty-first century thinking about people with intellectual disabilities as distinct members of the disability group

“…However, delivering this equitably would require additional professionals and risk diverting scarce resources from more pressing needs. Goodley & Runswick-Cole (2015) argued that people with all types of disabilities need solidarity in order to resist manipulation by the pharmaceutical trade and powerful "psy" professionals. Dedifferentiation has supported development of the Disability Rights Movement as a collective that can challenge oppressive structures.…”

Privileges of Power: Authenticity, Representation and the “Problem” of Children’s Voices in Qualitative Health Research

“…Qualitative research has been further championed for "giving a voice" to individuals or groups who are often under-acknowledged or otherwise marginalized (both in research and society more broadly). Examples of such research can be found across a range of fields include feminist studies (Belford & Lahiri-Roy, 2018;Haigwood, 2012), disability studies (Goodley & Runswick-Cole, 2015;Liddiard et al, 2018) and race studies (Chang, 2013;Louis et al, 2016).…”

Families and disability.

“…The traditional narrative of crisis initiated by a child' s disability has overshadowed mediating factors and has failed to address the lack of appropriate support available to families of disabled children (Raina et al, 2005). In fact, emerging evidence indicates that some parents experience enrichment because of their child' s disability, report value in facing adversity and learning to advocate as a family and appreciate their involvement in the disability community (Goodley & Cole, 2015). Scorgie and colleagues (2004) developed a model of resilience and transformational outcomes in which the lives of parents are initially disrupted and disoriented by a child' s disability, as their worldview and beliefs are challenged.…”