Me and ‘It’: Seven young people given a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome
| Autor: | Sharon McLaughlin, Harry Rafferty |
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| Rok vydání: | 2014 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Educational and Child Psychology. 31:63-78 |
| ISSN: | 2396-8702 0267-1611 |
| DOI: | 10.53841/bpsecp.2014.31.1.63 |
| Popis: | Martz (2004) describes, ‘a crisis about one’s very own existence’ (p.142), which arises when the ‘disabled’ individual becomes aware that the devaluing and stigmatising framework held by those around them is no longer just in relation to their ‘disabled’ aspect but has come to represent their whole person – their core identity. During a discussion of the impact of labelling, Speraw (2009) suggests that, ‘by categorising according to deficits, we disregard the most admirable qualities of human beings, and diminish their dignity’ (p.734). This way of categorising people applies equally to the conduct of research, indeed Tangen (2008) argues that if we focus only on special needs when conducting research we may be adding to the discourse of stereotyping and a disregard for individual difference. In an exploration of the findings of eight qualitative studies which purport to give a voice to mainstream adolescent students with a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome (AS), there was evidence in at least half of the studies that the data was analysed mainly as it related to the diagnostic criteria for AS. It is also of note that within these eight studies, only two focused solely on the young person’s perspective. Speraw (2009) notes, when seeking to examine an individual’s lived experience that perhaps the individuals themselves are, ‘the most expert, most capable of telling what it is like to be them’ (p.736). This paper explores and deconstructs the current literature and depicts a thematic analysis of conversations with seven young people with a diagnosis of AS who were first simply asked ‘What is life like for you?’. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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