Behind the quest for tales, stories and lives: Reflections on narrative research with people with intellectual disabilities

Útdráttur

This paper reflects upon the growing narrative research with people with intellectual disabilities. In this paper we consider some of the unexpected, hidden, elusive consequences of our quests for narratives with people with intellectual disabilities. In this paper we respond to Bourdieu’s invitation to reflexivity in an attempt to unpack some of the complexities and power relations of research. We reflect on some of our own narrative work with people with intellectual disabilities. Our attention is not solely drawn to issues of method, but also highlights the ways in which we understand the narratives we collect and the narrators we work with. We also explore how our narrative work has potentially contributed to the construction of the label of intellectual disability. Our conclusion is that reflexivity is fundamental to research collaboration with people with intellectual disabilities. And attention should be paid to the strategies that people with intellectual disabilities employ in their resistance to prejudice and lack of power they experience in their daily lives.