This article has been written by a group of persons with intellectual disability, which is called the Consultative Committee of Persons with Intellectual Disability. This group works in Malta. The article is about how we would like to live. It looks at two things: "where we would like to live" and "going out in the community".…

Contrary to views that young people with the label of autism are incapable of engaging in collective cultural practice, this article examines how they construct identities through social interactions to belong, compete, and participate. In a multi-sited ethnography of high school students with disabilities, we focused on two students as they move…

This essay reviews Vygotsky's work on defectology. First, Vygotsky's cultural heritage as a Jew during the transformation from Tsarist Russia to the Soviet Union is considered as a factor in his views on defectology and inclusion. The review then outlines his perspective on the "defect," including his definition of "defect," his view of the…

In the past, people with disabilities were largely segregated from mainstream society. Medical psychotherapy was a niche discipline, located mostly in hospitals and nursing homes. However, things are changing. There are more people with disabilities, and they are more integrated into society. General Practicing Psychotherapists need to know how to…

Identity development is a difficult process for many people with disabilities. Individuals who have disabilities often struggle to come to terms with their identities. As a person with cerebral palsy, I spent most of my life struggling with my identity. I tried to reject my disability in order to fit in with the able-bodied world. However, my…

Much of the debates in late nineteenth-century Britain regarding the education of deaf children revolved around communication. For many Victorians, sign language was unacceptable; many proponents of oralism attempted to "normalise" the hearing impaired by replacing deaf methods of communication with spoken language and lipreading. While…

The authors discuss recent developments in services for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in the Nordic countries. They note that all of the countries saw important reforms during the 1990s, regarding both deinstitutionalization and decentralization. However, they posit that the litmus test of the reforms is not what happens during reform…

Participation is considered the most meaningful outcome of rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there were correlations between wheelchair activity recorded with a data logger and community participation as measured by the Participation Survey/Mobility. Data from 16 participants were included in this study. Data…

This article, written by Ewelina Rydzewska, a PhD student and associate lecturer at the University of the West of Scotland, draws upon a range of research evidence in order to explore the process of transition to adulthood for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It provides a brief overview of extended and complex youth transitions in…

Introduction: The study reported here explored the relationship between the self-perceived computer competence and employment outcomes of transition-aged youths with visual impairments. Methods: Data on 200 in-school youths and 190 out-of-school youths with a primary disability of visual impairment were retrieved from the database of the first…

This paper explores how the ideology of compulsory able-bodiness functions in special education. The apparatus of special education, this paper contends, applies a bureaucratic gaze to students from historically oppressed groups (e.g. students of color and working class students) and, finding them deficient, interpellates them as disabled. They…

This paper seeks to examine a number of issues which relate to the provision of appropriate and high-quality residential and community care for people with an intellectual disability. A number of key themes emerging from this Special Issue of the "Journal of Intellectual Disability Research" are identified and explored: (1) normalisation; (2)…

The field of developmental disabilities is as multi-faceted, varied and intricate as anything imaginable. Most of the author's management and professional experience has centered on vocational opportunities and supported employment for people with significant disabilities. The author shares some thoughts and experiences about supporting people in…

When transitioning to employment, students with disabilities who do not complete high school face multiple challenges; even beyond the challenges of students who complete a GED® credential later, especially in times of economic downturn and job instability. They cope with sometimes overwhelming struggles from disabling conditions. Thus GED passers…

This article explores non-disabled young people's understandings of Paralympic athletes and the disability sports they play. The article examines how society has come to know disability by discussing medical and social model views of disability. The conceptual tools offered by Pierre Bourdieu are utilised as a means of understanding the nature and…