Beyond inclusion: Why research on encounter needs a feminist account of freedom.

Background: Though the concept of encounter promises to move the field of social inclusion beyond the dichotomy of presence and participation, new work in political theory pushes encounter in a different direction, making freedom - not inclusion - the central value at stake.

Methods: Interpretative video analysis was conducted on an online learning program "Supporting Inclusion" developed to help support workers recognise and facilitate encounters between people with intellectual disabilities and community members.

Findings: Using the lens of freedom in the encounter offers an alternative framing of the significance and meaning of the online learning program's social interactions.

"With a Touch of a Button": Staff perceptions on integrating technology in an Irish service provider for people with intellectual disabilities.

Background: People with intellectual disabilities continue to underutilize technology, in part due to insufficient training. Because support staff professionals provide instructional support, how they perceive integrating new technologies is important for people with intellectual disabilities.

Method: The authors conducted a sequential mixed-methods exploratory study (quan→QUAL) including quantitative data from online surveys completed by 46 staff members and qualitative data from five focus groups attended by 39 staff members.

Elite Repudiation of the R-Word and Public Opinion About Intellectual Disability.

Part of the motivation for encouraging elite stakeholders—like governments, professionals, and advocacy groups—to replace the language of "mental retardation" with "intellectual disability" (ID) is the belief that elite endorsement could undermine negative attitudes and influence the public to follow suit. We examine the veracity of this expectation empirically with an experiment that exposed individuals to information about endorsements of the terminology change made by the federal government, Special Olympics, or professional psychologists. We subsequently measured attitudes about persons with ID and the language used to describe ID.

Defining social inclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities: an ecological model of social networks and community participation.

Social inclusion is an important goal for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, families, service providers, and policymakers; however, the concept of social inclusion remains unclear, largely due to multiple and conflicting definitions in research and policy. We define social inclusion as the interaction between two major life domains: interpersonal relationships and community participation. We then propose an ecological model of social inclusion that includes individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and socio-political factors.