The history of self-advocacy in England has not been recorded, other than the stories of individuals and of some individual groups. We, therefore, decided to interview some leaders of the self-advocacy movement and some people who were allies and supporters. Three researchers, two self-advocates and one academic, interviewed 11 self-advocate…

Background: This article presents an overview and discussion of the main developments in the lives of persons with intellectual disability in Malta over the last 70 years in residential services, education, employment, friendships and relationships, culture, sport and leisure activities, having a say in one's own life and how people look at…

Background: Self-determination is a key construct to guarantee the development of skills that allow people with disabilities to acquire control over their lives. However, people with intellectual disabilities may have premature ageing processes that make it difficult to exercise these skills. This study seeks to determine the self-determination…

Background: Inclusive research has sidelined discussion of theoretical issues with researchers with intellectual/learning disabilities. This is a situation which the Big Ideas initiative sought to change. Between 2021 and 2023, the Open University, Leipzig University and the University of Koblenz organised nine workshops to explore influential…

UK social care policy has "traditionally" sought to minimise organisational and sector boundaries through cooperation and partnership. This discussion paper argues that there is a case for a social care system based openly on separation of powers to address the conflicts of interest that inevitably exist between the actors--notably local…

Background: Negative attitudes remain a major barrier to the equality of people with disability, especially when coupled with the lack of autonomy imposed on many people. This paper analyses how disability self-advocacy groups seek to change community attitudes and work towards systemic change by mobilising knowledge from their lived experience.…

Background: Previous research has found that people with learning disabilities are not given prescription information that is tailored to their needs. We wanted to find out people's information requirements. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire was co-produced by the authors and consultants with learning disabilities. It asked what information…

This paper presented research undertaken in collaboration with a self-advocacy group using inclusive research methods and puts forward the views of people with intellectual disability on the topics of sexuality and relationships. The paper presents the perceptions of sexuality of the people with intellectual disability and how these are influenced…

Participation, voice and control have long been central concerns in the research at Norah Fry. This paper focuses on inclusive research relating to choice and control, as experienced by people with learning disabilities who use personal budgets and direct payments, and aims to question how the process of inclusive research can be linked to wider…

This is about research an Oxfordshire Self-Advocacy Organisation did into annual health checks for people with learning disabilities. The self-advocates worked with Oxfordshire's Primary Care Health Facilitator and a Professor to find out why only one in four people in our area had a health check in 2009/10 (Emerson & Glover 2010a,b). The…

A phenomenological methodology was used to explore the lived experiences of belonging to a self-advocacy group for people with intellectual disabilities. Thirteen persons with intellectual disabilities who attend three self-advocacy day centre based groups in a city in the west of Ireland were the sample identified for the study. Changes affected…

Mutual Support, a model of peer support by and for people with learning difficulties, was constructed through a participatory research process. The research focussed on individual narratives from people with learning difficulties. These narratives were then brought together to form a collective model of support. This paper outlines the detailed…

This article recounts the life-story of one man who was "diagnosed" as intellectually disabled in the early 1960s. It details the time he spent in a special residential school in the Irish Republic after acquiring this label and outlines the bullying and abuse he experienced. It includes his struggle as an adult to come to terms with his…

Many residential group settings for people with learning difficulties do not provide individuals with the private space in which they can explore their sexual relationships in a safe and dignified manner. Lack of agreed private spaces seriously infringes the individual's human rights. Many people with learning difficulties who lack privacy have no…

This paper looks at the history of self advocacy in England. Self advocacy has helped many people with learning difficulties to speak up and gain more confidence. But now it is associated with Government policy. After Valuing People, people expect self advocacy organizations to speak up for everyone with learning difficulties. This might mean…