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The implementation of inclusion in schools has proved challenging, and research has shown that children with Autism are frequently the recipients of separating practices and exclusion from regular schools (Slee, 2019). In spite of the many widely espoused inclusive educational policy principles and directives at the international and national levels, and the support of research evidence, inclusive education is still a work in progress (Ainscow, 2020). Evidence is scarce on the day to day interactions of children with autism and other educational actors in school (Pennings et al., 2014). Most research on the inclusive education of children with Autism has focused on teachers’ attitudes, children with Autism social difficulties with their peers, adopting a deficit model approach, and teachers’ training needs to cater for children with Autism (Humphrey and Lewis, 2015; Garrad, et al., 2019; Lindsay, et al., 2014). To address the gap in research, the current study was conducted to shed light on the daily interactions in schools while putting inclusion into practice. This research adopted a qualitative methodology. Through observations, presented eight case studies outlining the daily interactions in the early years of primary school between eight children with Autism, their teachers, support teachers, Special Needs Assistants and peers in the classroom, the playground and the support classroom. The study being presented here draws on data from this original research and presents two case studies based on a purposeful selection to illustrate contrasting approaches to inclusion. First, the case of Max, focuses on a child whose support fell short in terms of including him within the mainstream settings. Second is the case of Joe, a child who was supported alongside his peers in the school settings, thus facilitating his inclusive education. The two contrasting versions of mainstream education in practice are discussed outlining what enabled or inhibited the inclusion of Max and Joe in their schools. The findings from the cases presented in this paper highlight how interactions, support, and participation are intertwined dimensions that shed light onto the paths that enable or inhibit inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The right of people with intellectual disabilities to make decisions remains controversial despite the policy turn towards support promoted by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) (United Nations, 2006). Supported decision making is an alternative model to substitute decision making, shifting the focus from the assumption of incapacity to the provision of individualised support to exercise this right. Despite the centrality of decision making for the development and implementation of policy and legislation, there is limited understanding of the experiences of people with intellectual disabilities and of persons supporting them. A literature review was conducted to understand these experiences and perspectives. A systematic search from 2000 to 2023 identified a total of 33 articles that were examined through reflexive thematic analysis and adopting an inclusive research approach. The review reveals the experiences of people with intellectual disabilities making day‑to‑day decisions and more long‑term decisions. Trusted relationships with family and staff who provide support are critical to enable decision making, however, numerous restrictions to decision making have been reported. Open dialogue, accessible information, knowing the person with disability well, responsiveness to their wills and preferences, advocating for their rights, providing learning experiences, using planning tools, and having a shared vision for the person as capable of making their own decisions are presented as enablers of decision making. Support can be adapted to enable people with intellectual disabilities to have control over their decisions. Careful examination of the more systemic restrictions imposed on and internalised by people with disabilities—a form of substituted decision‑making—resulting from a still prevalent protection and «best interest» approach is required to protect people’s rights to make decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participation of people with disabilities in producing and using research is critical for monitoring the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The Research Active Programme (RAP) is a module designed to build research capacity of students with intellectual disabilities. RAP was implemented over 11 weeks in 2 Irish universities. The mixed methods programme evaluation was completed from the students' perspectives, attending to curriculum content, pedagogical approach, the research knowledge and skills acquired by students. Twenty-five students completed interviews before and after engaging in RAP. Focus groups and quizzes were held after sessions to assess learning outcomes. Content analysis was used to interpret student perspectives. RAP was an effective approach for supporting students with intellectual disabilities to develop introductory research knowledge and skills; however, across the cohort, there were differences in demonstrated learning. Student expectations with respect to overall curriculum design, learning outcomes and delivery were reviewed. Specifically, learning outcomes, module delivery and assessment strategies were critiqued. Overall, the RAP curriculum supported research skill development in students. This module prepared people with intellectual disabilities to engage more fully as research partners in monitoring the implementation of the CRPD.

The movement of people with intellectual disabilities into the community is increasingly endorsed by public policy. Whilst staff are critical to a successful transition to the community, there is only scattered research on their role in supporting people to move. In this study, 32 staff and the 16 people with intellectual disabilities they supported to move from congregated settings to group homes or personalized living arrangements in the community were interviewed on two occasions, before (time 1) and after (time 2) the move. In congregated settings, staff steered the move to community living, they helped them to settle in community group homes and supported them to increase control over their lives in personalized community arrangements, where they support became increasingly more personalized and geared towards community participation and development of social relationships. Implications for staff training are drawn.

Background: Internationally, people with intellectual disability are socially marginalized, and their rights under the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) are often ignored. Aims: This paper aims to define the key concerns of adults with an intellectual disability in relation to their participation in society using an inclusive research strategy for both data gathering and data analysis. Methods: A national study involving 23 focus groups and 168 persons was conducted on the island of Ireland with people with intellectual disability as co-facilitators. Findings: A thematic content analysis was undertaken of the verbatim transcripts initially by university co-researchers, and 19 themes were identified. Co-researchers with intellectual disability joined in identifying the eight core themes. These were as follows: living options, employment, relationships, citizenship, leisure time, money management, self-advocacy, and communication. Discussion: The concerns are discussed within the framework of the CRPD, and implications for transforming service policy are drawn.

Background: Inclusive research with people with intellectual disabilities is growing internationally but with few studies examining its feasibility. Methods: In undertaking a national study exploring what life was like in Ireland for people with intellectual disabilities, a community of practice was developed involving a core group of co-researchers: five people with intellectual disabilities, four university researchers and three service support staff. An additional cadre of 15 co-researchers with intellectual disabilities was recruited to undertake data gathering and analysis with 23 focus groups involving 168 participants. The research experience was documented through oral feedback, progress reports, minutes and a project review. Results and Conclusions: The key learning is documented arising from the setting up of an inclusive advisory group and implementation of each of six research steps. The study demonstrates feasibility and the added value of university co-researchers recruiting and developing skills together with co-researchers with intellectual disabilities. Topics for further research and development are identified.

Inclusive research has gained momentum internationally. However important critiques of this approach query whether inclusive research reinforces perceptions of deficit and contribute to exclusionary practices. This paper presents a reflection on the practices within an inclusive research group over the past decade, with a focus on decision making and support. The authors used thematic analysis to critically review minutes, workshop presentations and research reports. The findings indicate a shift in how the group works together; moving away from being guided by university supporters in the early years towards increased participation in decision making and ownership of the group's agenda by self-advocates over time although balanced collaboration across all members continues to be challenging. The article explains how the inclusive approach used by the group enabled self-advocates to not only conduct research, but to also critically review their own work. Research done together with people with learning disabilities, inclusive research, has become known worldwide. Some people wonder if teams that say they are inclusive are not really treating people as equal partners. Our group wanted to reply to these key issues as we think about how we work together. To do this, we looked at our meeting notes and agendas, reports, and training presentations over the past ten years. We looked at how we make decisions and the support we get. The group found that self-advocates and supporters now work as full partners. University supporters made decisions before. Now self-advocates decide the research topics, methods, and the report. In this article we explain how we work together and also what we think about the work we do. Even though we are happy with the way we work, we still struggle with how much work we all do. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participation of people with disabilities in producing and using research is critical for monitoring the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The Research Active Programme (RAP) is a module designed to build research capacity of students with intellectual disabilities. RAP was implemented over 11 weeks in 2 Irish universities. The mixed methods programme evaluation was completed from the students' perspectives, attending to curriculum content, pedagogical approach, the research knowledge and skills acquired by students. Twenty-five students completed interviews before and after engaging in RAP. Focus groups and quizzes were held after sessions to assess learning outcomes. Content analysis was used to interpret student perspectives. RAP was an effective approach for supporting students with intellectual disabilities to develop introductory research knowledge and skills; however, across the cohort, there were differences in demonstrated learning. Student expectations with respect to overall curriculum design, learning outcomes and delivery were reviewed. Specifically, learning outcomes, module delivery and assessment strategies were critiqued. Overall, the RAP curriculum supported research skill development in students. This module prepared people with intellectual disabilities to engage more fully as research partners in monitoring the implementation of the CRPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The movement of people with intellectual disabilities into the community is increasingly endorsed by public policy. Whilst staff are critical to a successful transition to the community, there is only scattered research on their role in supporting people to move. In this study, 32 staff and the 16 people with intellectual disabilities they supported to move from congregated settings to group homes or personalized living arrangements in the community were interviewed on two occasions, before (time 1) and after (time 2) the move. In congregated settings, staff steered the move to community living, they helped them to settle in community group homes and supported them to increase control over their lives in personalized community arrangements, where they support became increasingly more personalized and geared towards community participation and development of social relationships. Implications for staff training are drawn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Inclusive research with people with intellectual disabilities is growing internationally but with few studies examining its feasibility. Methods In undertaking a national study exploring what life was like in Ireland for people with intellectual disabilities, a community of practice was developed involving a core group of co-researchers: five people with intellectual disabilities, four university researchers and three service support staff. An additional cadre of 15 co-researchers with intellectual disabilities was recruited to undertake data gathering and analysis with 23 focus groups involving 168 participants. The research experience was documented through oral feedback, progress reports, minutes and a project review. Results and conclusions The key learning is documented arising from the setting up of an inclusive advisory group and implementation of each of six research steps. The study demonstrates feasibility and the added value of university co-researchers recruiting and developing skills together with co-researchers with intellectual disabilities. Topics for further research and development are identified. Accessible Abstract This paper tells you about how people with intellectual disabilities worked with a group of university researchers. Both groups were called co-researchers and together they ran 23 focus groups across Ireland. People with intellectual disabilities talked about their lives and what could make them better. They said they needed to have a good place to live; a job; enough money; relationships; and acceptance as respected citizens. The university co-researchers wrote about what it was like doing research together and how people with intellectual disabilities joined the advisory group; decided on the questions; ran focus groups; and presented findings. Together they grew into a community of researchers where the university co-researchers shared their research skills and people with intellectual disabilities shared what it was like living with a disability. They both saw great value in working together and plan to work more to make this type of research happen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation capacity building (ECB) has become a popular approach for helping community-based organizations (CBOs) to meet their funders’ demands for accountability. This case study reports the ECB process with one staff member using a catalyst-for-change approach. The authors analyzed the role of the catalyst in diffusing evaluation knowledge and skills and in promoting evaluation mainstreaming and use within the CBO; and the outcomes achieved as a result of the catalyst’s role in the process of building evaluation capacity. Implications based on the study findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]