Experiential knowledge challenges ‘normality’ and individualized citizenship: towards ‘another way of being’

Empowering interventions in health and social care: Recognition through ‘ecologies of practice’

“…' Honneth also argues (2003, p. 141) that 'achievement' is currently located in the 'public' sphere and measured according to '…a value standard whose normative reference point is the economic activity of the independent, middle-class, male bourgeois'. We note, therefore, that high status masculinity (associated with the 'public' sphere) will not generally cultivate relationships of recognition (Fisher, 2007) but will aim instead towards ontological separation and competitiveness (Connell, 2002). High status for both men and women is, to a certain extent, based on maintaining a clear distinction between the 'private' and 'public'…”

“…'Economies of performance', we suggest, are based on an individualised understanding of ontology (Fisher, 2007, Fisher, 2008) that tends to emphasise contractual 'rights and responsibilities' whilst underestimating the importance of 'ecologies of practice'. In our discussion below, we extend Stronach et al's (2002) notion of 'ecologies of practice' by exploring the ways in which it may be informed by focusing specifically on processes of recognition within health and social care practice.…”

“…We argue that these practices are central if social and health care interventions are to be genuinely 'empowering'. By stressing the value of experiential knowledge, commonly associated with the 'private' sphere, this article builds on previous analyses that have articulated feminist 'ethics of care' and have challenged normative notions of citizenship based on economic selfsufficiency (Fisher, 2007;Fisher et al, 2007;Kittay, 2002;Sevenhuijsen, 1998;Williams 1999Williams , 2001Williams , 2002.…”

‘I accept my son for who he is – he has incredible character and personality’: fathers’ positive experiences of parenting children with autism

“…To that end he has incredible character and personality and surprises me frequently with the things that he can do that perhaps I didn't expect him to be able to do. Again, such perspectives reject the "othering" of their children as did mothers of disabled babies in Fisher's (2007) study who believed that their children's differences should be constructed not as "problems" or "abnormalities" but rather as an expression of human diversity which should be valued.…”

An exploration of parental decisions to transfer children from regular to special schools

“…Fisher (2007) raised concerns about the detrimental impact of narrow understandings of normality on people defined as disabled. Although she discussed how normality is constructed within a broader sphere, her analysis has parallels in the education system, where a benchmark of normality (often the basis of decisions to grant or deny access to the mainstream) is contingent on various privileged characteristics such as reading, writing, and communication (Kleinert et al, 2015).…”