THE PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH PARADIGM AND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

We believe that we are living through an age of transition, perhaps mo ving towards some 'post technological' era and that this time is marke d by considerable turbulence in society. Because of the place of disab ility within our society this era contains more than its fair share of risks to people with disabilities. Our enduring concern is about the ability of human service organisations to deliver meaningful services- to become or to remain compassionate, humane and responsive to people' s needs and, in particular, to devise strategies in which research and action are closely linked. In this study we advocate a participatory research paradigm as a powerful and liberating strategy to deliver mea ningful services to people with disabilities. Through the participator y process the sharing of client experiences benefits both the clients (by turning their passivity into activity) and those who deliver servi ces to them. If is a major thesis of this paper that a new research pa radigm in the field of learning disability must emerge from a clearer comprehension of the essential identity of people with a learning disa bility and the reality of their life experiences and situations.