Search results

The study aims to identify the issues that restrict students to show their real performance in the design due to lacking of self-advocacy skills and suggesting a new concept to overcome these difficulties.

The current literature was surveyed to form a comprehensive understanding of the issue. A case study has been taken for three years and two groups of students were taken. Results achieved and discussed.

The result of the study showed that those students who undergo an environment equipped with knowledge about self-advocacy can perform better and the success level is relatively higher amongst these students.

This study contributes to the current literature an original knowledge that has not been previously written about (empowering self-advocacy amongst students of interior architecture). The profession of interior architecture is a relatively new profession and faces challenges in fixing its feet on the ground that is why the subject can add a real value to it to alleviate the challenge.

The purpose of this paper is to examine current research on self-advocacy and self-determination of autistic students in order to provide an overview of the research and to critically evaluate researcher’s methods of inclusivity of autistic people. Additionally, this paper will critically analyse the discourse of the current research to assess the extent of deficit, stigma and pathology discourse.

Research will be selected from a list of criteria which is to seek research that is inclusive of autistic people. The research will be analysed using elements of critical discourse analysis, critical disability studies and critical autism studies. The critical autism studies approach used in this paper is emancipatory to promote autistic scholarship, autistic inclusivity and autistic led research methods.

The result of this paper is that by prioritising, and including autistic individuals in the studies about them provides valuable educational insights and often challenges assumptions, stigmas and stereotypes of autistic individuals.

The findings of the paper may be limited by the selection of literature reviewed and generalizability, therefore, researchers are encouraged to explore further.

This paper holds potential implications that question the consistency of current discourse and research into self-advocacy for autistic individuals in addition to providing effective research, teaching and support strategies based on insight. This paper also highlights some research that challenges assumptions of autistic individuals.

This paper challenges assumptions and stigmas associated with autistic individuals and demonstrates the importance of self-advocacy and self-determination. This research transforms the paradigm of autism and education practice that has the potential to improve autistic individuals’ education and ultimately, improve their lives.

This research is important and valuable as there is limited research in this area. The potential of this research is that it can shift the broad perceptions of autism and make improvements in education and autistic individuals lives.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary on the preceding article “Changing organisational culture: another role for self-advocacy”.

The paper suggests that self-advocacy has the potential to be a significant influence on organisational culture, but questions whether self-advocacy's current funding regime and limited focus on outcomes makes this possible.

This issue is identified as one where further research would be beneficial.

If organisations are to use self-advocacy as a route of cultural change, it is suggested that attention will need to be given to issues of independent funding, management change objectives and whole system change.

If evidence were generated to support the belief that self-advocacy can impact on organisational culture, the consequences for how society and services behave towards people with learning disabilities could be significant.

Improvements in organisational culture are a common recommendation of enquiries into system failure and an aspiration of policy. The purpose of this paper is to explore an initiative to change culture in a low-secure service through the introduction of a self-advocacy group.

An independent evaluation was carried out by a university research team. A theory-based methodology was deployed with qualitative data gathered through observations, interviews and focus groups.

Culture change was reported by senior managers and clinicians in relation to the transparency of the service, decision making regarding resources, and engagement of patients in redesign. Self-advocacy group members reported a different relationship with senior management which in turn enabled greater influence in the organisation. Achieving these impacts relied on independent and skilled external facilitation, support from senior managers, and a calm and democratic atmosphere in the meetings. Ward staff were kept at an arms-length from the group and were less certain that it had made any difference to the way in which the ward operated.

The research was only based in one organisation and the impacts of the initiative may vary with a different local context. Research in a wider sample of organisations and culture change initiatives will provide greater insights.

Self-advocacy groups can lead to organisation culture change alongside benefits for individual group members but require funding, external and independent facilitation, and organisational endorsement and support.

This paper adds to the limited literature regarding culture change in secure services and services for people with a learning disability in general and also to the understanding of the impact of self-advocacy groups.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary on the paper titled “The Zone of Parental Control, The ‘Gilded Cage’ and The Deprivation of a Child’s Liberty: Getting Around Article 5”.

This paper uses the original article as a jumping off point to assess what aids advocacy organisations and human rights instruments can give to children with learning disabilities who enter legal procedures.

Existing human rights laws such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities provide innovative principles to reviewing existing policies, but little practical guidance is given to real implementation. Disability advocacy is ambiguous towards the question of representation of children with learning disabilities.

Literature on self-advocacy and especially on the self-advocacy and self-representation of children with learning disabilities is very limited. Access to justice for children with learning disabilities is similarly under-researched and is rarely addressed in disability advocacy.

The aim of the research described was to gather information about both the objective and the subjective experiences of self‐advocates who had attended learning disability partnership boards, in order to promote effective practices. Findings show that, although people with learning disabilities were present at meetings, a variety of barriers limited their ability to participate actively. Problems included lack of financial and practical help as well as the limited availability of accessible information. There were also, however, examples of good practice, and many self‐advocates were pleased at how their local authorities were beginning to implement effective partnership working practices. Ways of supporting self‐advocates and other people with learning disabilities to fulfil a truly representative, rather than a merely symbolic, function at partnership board meetings are discussed.An accessible summary of these findings is available to download from the project website: www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/NorahFry/Strategy/papers.htm

The purpose of this study was to explore how graduate students demonstrated agency after having oppressive or invalidating experiences based on their socially constructed identities during graduate school and the effects of leveraging agency.

This study used critical constructivist qualitative methods (i.e. interviews and visual methods) to explore how 44 graduate students across an array of disciplines and fields at two public research institutions in the USA demonstrated agency after having oppressive or invalidating experiences targeting one or more of their socially constructed identities.

In response to oppressive or invalidating experiences related to their socially constructed identity, participants engaged in self-advocacy, sought/created support via community, conserved their psychological and emotional energy and constructed space for identity-conscious scholarship and practice. Although participants leveraged their agency, the strategies they used were often geared toward surviving environments that were not designed to affirm their identities or support their success.

This study highlights the need for additional research to complicate educators’ understandings of how graduate students respond to oppressive or invalidating experiences and the nature of bi-directional socialization processes.

The findings of this study reinforce the need to foster equitable and inclusive graduate education experiences where students may use their agency to thrive rather than to survive.

Few studies examine graduate students’ agency during their socialization to their disciplines and fields. This study adds complexity to researchers’ understandings of bi-directional socialization processes in the context of graduate education.

This paper reports on the manual AQUA‐UWO, an instrument for quality development in supported living services developed by a research group at the Centre for Planning and Evaluation of Social Services at the University of Siegen in Germany. The extension of supported living services in Germany is still marked by conceptual and financial uncertainty. Debates about the concept and quality of supported living are still not advanced. Against this background, AQUA‐UWO identifies key issues for supported living and formulates professional standards for work in, and management of, supported living. Service user rights for self‐advocacy and self‐determination form the basis of quality assurance and development of supported living services. The first part of the instrument covers conceptual foundations, quality comprehension and methodical procedures. The second part covers key issues, identifies working procedures and clarifies quality standards. The third part includes materials which can be used to support the process of quality development.

The paper's purpose is to describe the information content of web sites developed by and for people with learning disabilities around the theme of transition from school to adulthood.

The paper adopts a content analysis approach, in which subject experts evaluate user‐generated content produced as part of a project on inclusion and people with learning disabilities.

Despite being only one theme of a number pertaining to transition, leisure, entertainment and hobby‐related information dominated the web sites. Other issues elicited included that of writing about one's personal experiences providing limited information of use to others, the key role of carers/supporters in information provision, and some material being too difficult for people with learning disabilities to understand.

The paper shows that for the information service to be valuable and relevant to the target audience, much training and considerable time investment are required for both people with learning disabilities and their supporters. The practice of creating and uploading information on to the web site holds benefits to the creator beyond mere information provision.

The development of information services for people with learning disabilities by the service users themselves is an important innovation. This paper points out how such an inclusive approach could work in the future.

In the context of budget constraints and the current quality crisis facing UK healthcare, the purpose of this paper is to examine the use of trans-disciplinary community groups (TCG) – an innovative and inexpensive initiative for improving patient care.

Using an action research study, TCG was implemented within a private healthcare firm for vulnerable adults. Qualitative data were gathered over 12 months from 33 participants using depth interviews and focus groups.

TCG led to improved patient activities and increased patient decision-making and confidence in self-advocacy. Key prerequisites were top management commitment, democratic leadership and employee empowerment. However, staff nurses resisted TCG because they were inclined to using managerial control and their own independent clinical judgements.

Whilst the findings from this study should not be generalized across all healthcare sectors, its results could be replicated in contexts where there is wide commitment to TCG and where managers adopt a democratic style of leadership. Researchers could take this study further by exploring the applicability of TCG in public healthcare organizations or other multi-disciplinary service contexts.

The findings of this research paper provide policy makers and healthcare managers with practical insights on TCG and the factors that are likely to obstruct and facilitate its implementation.

Adopting TCG could enable healthcare managers to ameliorate their services with little or no extra cost, which is especially important in a budget constraint context and the current quality crisis facing UK healthcare.