Martina Smith, Department of Education, University of Sheffield

Francesca Ribenfors, Department of Social Care and Social Work, Manchester Metropolitan University

This symposium brings together four projects that explore the lives of people with learning disabilities and their family carers in the contexts of health and social care research. Our approach to understanding access to support for people with learning disabilities is guided by a social model of learning disability which argues for a transformative shift away from solely individualised responses and ‘solutions’ to the issues that people with learning disabilities and their families face. We argue that we need to understand the impact of policies and service systems to build better support for people with learning disabilities and their families. Historically, people with learning disabilities have not been given meaningful roles in research about improving their lives and have been excluded from decision making within the health and care systems and services that construct their lives. In contrast, our approach is a collaborative one, drawing on the principles of participatory action research (PAR), which place the perspectives and knowledge of marginalised communities at the centre of research design and practice. Throughout the symposium, we will reflect on working in partnership in this way, and argue for the importance of user-led research. Each project exposes the challenges and discrimination people with learning disabilities face and their family carers face in the context of health and social care. At the same time, each project reveals moments of resistance and possibilities for transformation in care. We conclude with a shared commitment to transforming health and social care policy and practice to enable people with learning disabilities and their family carers to lead flourishing lives.

Papers:

Paper 1: Dr Francesca Ribenfors, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

Paper 2: Dr Martina Smith, University of Sheffield, UK

Paper 3: Dr Harriet Cameron, University of Sheffield, UK and Professor Katherine Runswick-Cole, University of Sheffield, UK.

Paper 4: Charlie Grosset, University of Sheffield, UK

Discussants:

Dr Martina Smith, Department of Education, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom

Dr Francesca Ribenfors, Department of Social Care and Social Work, Manchester