The experiences of women of South Asian origin with learning disabilities

Qualitative research has tended to not recruit participants with learning disabilities due to concerns that they would not be able to engage with the research process. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) is a new qualitative methodology which aims to make sense of participant's experiences through the researcher's interpretative enquiry of a homogenous sample. A literature is presented which synthesised, developed a quality guide and evaluated whether IPA is an appropriate methodology to use with people with learning disabilities. The main focus was around the quality of research is this area and additional issues to consider when recruiting people with learning disabilities. An empirical paper that investigated the experiences of women of South Asian origin in receipt of social services using IPA is also presented. It revealed that the participants are satisfied with services through 3 super- ordinate and 8 subthemes. Further research is needed in this area

The complex role of social care services in supporting the development of sustainable identities:insights from the experiences of British South Asian women with intellectual disabilities

Background and aims: Carers and service users with intellectual disabilities from minority ethnic groups have typically been reported to be dissatisfied with the social care services they receive. However, service users themselves have rarely been asked directly about their experiences of social care. This paper aims to understand the meaning of social care services in the lives of South Asian women with intellectual disabilities, in the United Kingdom. Method and procedure: 10 British South Asian women with mild-moderate intellectual disabilities were interviewed about their experiences of social care services. The transcripts were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: The analysis produced three super-ordinate themes, which focus on how services facilitate the development of complex identities, how the participants explored their sense of being ‘stuck’ between cultures as they negotiated their journeys towards independence, and the triple disadvantage which they experienced as a consequence of the intersection between gender, ethnicity and disability. The participants were broadly satisfied with the role which services played in these domains, and appeared to find them valuable and helpful. Conclusions: The results suggest that the participants successfully managed complex identity issues, such as acculturation processes, with the support of services. It may be helpful to give more explicit consideration to the positive role which good services can play in supporting people with intellectual disabilities in the development of their identities and goals, alongside the more traditionally ‘concrete’ objectives of such social care. Engagement with families in ‘positive risk-taking’ is likely to be an important component of success