Narrative Inquiry at the End of Intellectual Disability

• In Event: Boundary, Identity, and Narrative: The Significance of Method and Inquiry in Disability Studies in Education (DSE) Research

Abstract

The 2010 passage of Rosa’s Law followed by the 2013 publication of the DSM-V replaced the term mental retardation with intellectual disability in professional nomenclature. However, the underlying psychological presumptions of intellectual impairment remained unquestioned. In this paper we return to Alfred Binet’s realization of the nothingness on which mental retardation was initially and remains constructed. Through the method of narrative inquiry, we offer: (a) a deconstruction of the reification of intellectual disability exposing its origins in nothingness, and (b) descriptions of interdependent supports that account for human variation and foster valued participation and cultural connectedness. The construction of competence versus the creation of hopelessness may bring us finally to the end of mental retardation.

Authors

• Chris Kliewer, University of Northern Iowa

• Douglas P. Biklen, Syracuse University

• Amy J. Petersen, University of Northern Iowa

• Sue Rubin, Whittier College

• Jamie Burke, Syracuse University