C. Connors

Children’s experiences of disability: pointers to a social model of childhood disability

The social model of disability has paid little attention to disabled children, with few attempts to explore how far it provides an adequate explanatory framework for their experiences. This paper reports findings from a two‐year study exploring the lived experiences of 26 disabled children aged 7–15. They experienced disability in four ways—in terms of impairment, difference, other people’s behaviour towards them, and material barriers. Most young people presented themselves as similar to non‐disabled children: it is suggested they may have lacked a positive language with which to discuss difference. It is further argued that Thomas’s (1999) social relational model of disability can help inform understandings of children’s experiences, with ‘barriers to being’ having particular significance.

Communicating with Disabled Children

Kirsten Stalker and Clare Connors discuss the methods used in a study seeking disabled childrens accounts of their everyday lives. The research is set in the context of policy and practice initiatives promoting communication with disabled children and other recent research, which suggests that not all practitioners and policy makers are meeting their responsibilities in this area. In this study of 26 disabled childrens lives, different interview schedules were used with younger and older children, along with a number of visual aids and activities. The design and effectiveness of these is discussed in detail. Various methods were used to obtain the views of children with communication impairments. The authors conclude that communicating with most disabled children is little different from communicating with any child. Some basic skills are not hard to learn, and attitudes are all important. The methods described here could well be adapted and expanded for use in the field of adoption and fostering.