Nick Hodge

Problematising Parent-Professional Partnerships in Education.

The value of, and need for, parent–professional partnerships is an unchallenged mantra within policy relating to ‘special educational needs’. In spite of this, partnerships continue to be experienced as problematic by both parents and professionals. This paper brings together the different perspectives of two disability researchers: one a parent of a disabled child while the other was a teacher for 20 years of children with the label autism. The paper deconstructs the concept of partnership and then, drawing on the expertise of parents, suggests how enabling and empowering parent–professional relationships might be achieved.

Evaluating Lifeworld as an emancipatory methodology

Disability research is conducted within a highly politicised ‘hotbed’ of competing paradigms and principles. New researchers, who want to work within the social model, are soon faced with complex and challenging methodological and philosophical dilemmas. The social model advocates research agendas that are focused on the emancipation and empowerment of disabled people but, in reality, these are rarely achieved. To be successful researchers need to engage with innovative and creative methodologies and to share their experiences of these within environments that welcome challenge and debate. This paper focuses on Lifeworld and assesses its value as a tool for emancipatory research. Using examples from a study with parents, whose children were in the process of being labelled as having autism, the paper illustrates how the principles that ‘underpin’ the methodology offered a supportive framework for a novice researcher.

Reflections on diagnosing autism spectrum disorders

I was recently in America to observe how world‐renowned teams approach the process of diagnosing autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). As a teacher and a Senior Lecturer in Autism I have been aware for...I was recently in America to observe how world-renowned teams approach the process of diagnosing autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). As a teacher and a Senior Lecturer in Autism I have been aware for many years of how parents have often struggled to obtain a diagnosis of autism for a child. I have upheld the position that a diagnosis of ASD leads to a better understanding of ‘the problem’ and acts as a signpost to appropriate mechanisms of support. Recently, however, I have begun to question my total allegiance to the diktat that a diagnosis of ASD is helpful. I am currently undertaking a doctoral study into the impact on parents when, unexpectedly, their child is given a diagnosis of ASD. Mostly, the parents have been looking for practical support in developing their child’s language skills and have not anticipated ASD. In three cases I have been researching in depth, the diagnosis of ASD has had a largely devastating impact on the parents, disempowering them by causing them to question their ability to interact with and provide for their child without specialist training, even though they were doing an excellent job up to the time of diagnosis. The term ‘Autistic Spectrum Disorder’ causes them to rethink completely their child’s potential future, making them fearful of what lies ahead. Through talking with others and through their reading, the parents become unsure of how their child will be in the future; one family who had a very cooperative young son began to become highly anxious that he would, in the future, develop severely non-cooperative behaviours like children they read about in textbooks. I have seen that the label becomes more significant than the nature of the child. I even found myself recently describing children, from a photograph, to a friend as; ‘this is the one with ADHD, this is Sally and this is Jane who has Asperger Syndrome’. Only the child without a diagnostic label was defined simply by her name.

Counselling, autism and the problem of empathy

The experiences of disabled people suggest that ableism insidiously and invasively impacts upon the practice of counselling and related therapies. This article critiques a particular account of psychotherapy with a child with the label of autism to illustrate how ableism can disrupt the process of empathy and negate the therapeutic experience. In so doing the article highlights the inherent difficulties in traversing different epistemic positions to make sufficiently informed readings of counternormative expressions of being. General principles of counselling practice are then proposed to support practitioners with providing effective therapy for all clients.

“Black white zebra orange orange”: how children with autism make use of computer‐based voice output communication aids in their language and communication at school

Purpose – This naturalistic study adapted exploratory school practice in order to support empirically‐informed decision making in the provision of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technologies for children with autism.Design/methodology/approach – Research was conducted with three boys with autism and little speech, as part of a curricular literacy lesson. A mixed method approach, involving observational coding and staff diaries, identified how the boys used computer‐based voice output communication aids (VOCAs), also called speech generating devices (SGDs) and how the technology impacted on their communication and language. The boys were observed in initial lessons (“baseline” sessions), without the VOCA present and in sessions in which the VOCA was available (“intervention” sessions).Findings – VOCAs were used for two main communicative purposes; naming and giving information, with aids being used primarily to support curricular, task‐related communication. Existing modes of communicatio...

Unruly bodies at conference

Academic conferences embody a set of prescribed regulative practices. This article considers some of the tensions that arise when these normative expectations are disrupted by unruly bodies. As scholars of disability studies we lament the lack of understanding within an ableist society that is resistant to change. In this article, however, I invite us to explore closer to home to consider how unruly bodies might enable reflection on how disability is created even within our own ‘expert’ environments. It is argued here that new ways of conceptualising and accommodating behaviour at conference are required if these are to exemplify the inclusive and welcoming spaces desired by us all.

“You Say… I Hear…”: Epistemic Gaps in Practitioner-Parent/Carer Talk

Policy guidance has often focused on the need for strong partnerships between parents/carers and practitioners to support the learning of children labelled with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND). Despite this policy focus, relationships between parents/carers and practitioners are often difficult. This chapter explores the nature of these difficulties drawing on the work of Lipsky (1971) and McKenzie and Scully (2007). In conclusion, there are suggestions for how partnership working between parents/carers, practitioners and children might be developed.

Socially just and inclusive education

ABSTRACT This article presents a personal account of what socially just and inclusive education means to me, an academic in a UK university. I identify the critical elements as being the recognition of the right to claim and the duty to protect the humanity and value of all members of society. Inclusion and social justice are about belonging in the world unfettered by the disablements of poverty, illness and prejudice. They are dependent upon interdependence, community and collaborative enterprise. Here I call upon all students in education to take a stand, to work together to end the marginalisation and exclusion of the poor and the abandoned and to disavow control through privilege. Only together by and for each other can we be free.

'I didn't stand a chance': how parents experience the exclusions appeal tribunal

ABSTRACT In September 2012, the process changed in England for how parents (and carers) can appeal against their child’s exclusion from school. This paper is one of the first accounts of how parents experience the new system. Using data from a research study with a range of stakeholders in the appeals process, this paper focuses on the accounts of the 21 parents interviewed. Thematic analysis was utilised to identify the factors that motivate parents to make an appeal, the barriers and enablers to doing so, and the physical, emotional, and financial costs that result from engagement with the process. The findings reveal that the costs are extremely heavy for parents with very limited rewards. The process is experienced as inequitable with a bias towards schools and many of these parents call for the provision of experienced legal support to make it a more balanced system. In spite of the challenges involved the need to call schools to account remains a strong motivation to appeal but this was not the preferred option for parents. Instead they call for schools to develop more inclusive and enabling environments that rely more on understanding the needs of pupils and their families than on exclusion from school.

Disability studies: an interdisciplinary introduction

on place-based learning that focuses more deliberately on elements of the socio-cultural and geo-physical “story” of the land on which the activities are taking place. Overall, this is a clearly-written, well-structured book that is full of useful suggestions for activities, implications for practice, and sources for further reading. It is recommended in particular to practicing early years educators who would like to – as the back cover implores us – “incorporate the wilder and riskier elements of outdoor play into their planning”.