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Keywords
inclusion, intellectual disability, transition, secondary
Abstract
High school students with intellectual disabilities who are transitioning into adult life participated in discussions of their school experiences. Utilizing deductive thematic analysis through an emancipatory critical disability lens, students responded to an individualized semi structured interview protocol aimed at engaging them in a discussion focused on their perceptions and activities as high school students and adolescents. Responses were recorded to prompts initiated by the researchers. Reporting on the lived experiences of individuals with intellectual disabilities requires researchers to acknowledge their limitations in interpreting data. As educational researchers, we strive to give voice to this often marginalized group within educational settings as well as larger society. This "giving of voice" can involve a great deal of subjective interpretation, particularly when voices of those with profound intellectual disabilities are being heard. Subverting these voices into what might be perceived as a "normalized" version to fit into the preconceived notions of researcher and reader is an inherent danger in any interpretative endeavour. In this paper, researchers made a conscious and sustained effort to listen to the voices of teenagers with intellectual disabilities without interference. Research themes that guided the construction, collection and analysis of data were influenced by a priori knowledge and experience of the researchers as well as the existing literature.
As perceptions of disability continue to evolve, the impetus for finding new ways to view the experiences of individuals with disabilities becomes paramount. What were historically considered fundamental tenants of disability theory have been opened up to scrutiny and debate (Meekosha & Shuttleworth, 2009; Shakespeare & Watson 2001). Much of the discourse in disability research, and the resulting development of policy for students within educational and community based organizations, has been influenced heavily by sociological and anthropological theoretical constructs of how individuals with disabilities function within the social world (Klotz, 2004; Taylor, 2000). Whether the orientation is one that characterizes the lack of fit into society being the result of deficits on the part of an individual with an intellectual disability (Edgerton, 1976) or an orientation that focuses on the relationship between social constructs and disability (Bogdan & Taylor, 1982; Laichowitz, 1988) it is clear that the threads of these orientations towards disability still exist in educational...