People with intellectual disabilities: Towards a good life?

Description

What does it mean to live a good life? Why has it proved so difficult for people with intellectual disabilities to live one? What happens when we make a good life the centre of our consideration of people with intellectual disabilities? These questions are explored through a re-examination of ideas from philosophy and social theory, and through personal life stories. This important and timely book provides an analysis and critique of current policies and underpinning ideologies in relation to people with intellectual disabilities and explores ways in which a good life may be made more attainable.

Kelley Johnson is Professor of Disability Policy and Practice at the University of Bristol. Prior to this she was a Marie Curie Fellow at Trinity College Dublin where she facilitated a national programme on inclusive research with people with intellectual disabilities. Jan Walmsley is Visiting Chair in the History of Learning Disability at the Open University and a founder member of the Social History of Learning Disability Research Group. She currently works as an independent researcher and consultant. Marie Wolfe is a self-advocate living in Ireland. She has been advocating for rights for people with intellectual disabilities for some years and sees it as her vocation.

"This book challenges current ideas on what constitutes a 'good enough' life for people with intellectual disabilities and proposes new ideas on how to make a truly 'good life' possible." Dorothy Atkinson, Open University "If you need to be challenged to reflect on what 'a good life' should mean for people with intellectual disabilities this book is an excellent place to begin that quest." Gordon Grant, Emeritus Professor, Centre for Health and Social Care Research, Sheffield Hallam University