Rita Valade

Participatory Action Research with Adults with Intellectual Disabilities Rita Valade

Revision with unchanged content. This research is a participatory action project with adults with intellectual disabilities. While there have been multiple studies about persons with intellectual disabilities, very few actually include their voices. This research offers a vehicle for their opinions, actions, and reflections. A two-phase participatory action research design and methodology is developed and chronicled in rich detail. The first phase involves interviewing 25 adults relative to their personal concerns of things they would like to see changed in their lives. The second phase focuses on a ten-month process in which nine persons from the original 25 agree to commit to a group experience in which they decide upon a common issue, their structure, and other group needs. They then work together on how best to address the issue, enact their plan, and communally reflect upon the experience. Included is a session-by-session reporting of the group gatherings, in addition to insights gained through the co-researcher's peer supervision experience.