The current study exammes critically the factors that have influenced the construction of the concept of intellectual disability within disabled families in Ecuador. It also enquires about the strategies that disabled families and their impaired members have developed to negotiate, to accept, to reject or to confront discourses and actors that are present in such a construction. Implementing the contribution of Latin American thought, intellectual disability has been analysed as a modem construct that responds to four categories, medical and pedagogical, administrative and bureaucratic, moral and cultural, and a category of intimacy and mutuality. With the purpose of giving voice to the disabled individuals and their families, life stories were collected from 24 Ecuadorian families of three different ethnic , backgrounds: indio, negro, and mestizo. The process was developed through in-depth interviews with' a semi-structured format, as well as participant observation as a useful technique to understand meanings of life and experiences. Alongside the aforementioned, being loyal to the. incorporation of the category of intimacy, the methodology of the research included sharing time with the families (3 days with each family) in each area of fieldwork. The results of the research intend to contribute to the improvement of the work of the disability social movement, international organisations and the government in Ecuador are introducing approaches of conscientization and community action. In this way, the study hopes to play a significant part in giving a voice to disabled people and their families, which will hopefully bring about new means for policies and changes in attitude.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:550854 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Miranda-Galarza, Hilda Beatriz |
| Publisher | University of Leeds |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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