What Does It Mean to Be a 'Person' With Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities? Presenting the Views of Family Members and Allies.
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| Title: | What Does It Mean to Be a 'Person' With Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities? Presenting the Views of Family Members and Allies. |
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| Authors: | Simmons, Ben1 b.simmons@bathspa.ac.uk, Read, Stuart1 |
| Source: | British Journal of Learning Disabilities. Sep2025, Vol. 53 Issue 3, p457-465. 9p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Communicative competence, *Community support, *Attitudes toward disabilities, *Family attitudes, *Intellectual disabilities, *Research methodology, *Interpersonal relations, *People with disabilities, Research funding, Interviewing, Descriptive statistics, Thematic analysis, Social values, Extended families, Psychosocial factors |
| Abstract: | Background: Individuals with profound and multiple learning disabilities are at the centre of debates about what it means to be a person. These debates sometimes start from the position that a person is somebody who possesses mature cognitive abilities, such as intentional communication skills and self‐reflection (which individuals with profound and multiple learning disabilities are sometimes said to lack). However, those closest to people with profound and multiple learning disabilities are rarely consulted. This paper presents research that addresses this gap. Methods: Ten unstructured interviews were conducted with family members, friends and allies of the profound and multiple learning disabilities communities. Participants were asked to discuss what being a person meant to them, using their knowledge of supporting individuals with profound and multiple learning disabilities. Findings: Interviewees suggested that a person was fundamentally a relational being, but this relationality was described in a myriad of ways (e.g., as mutual dependence, social role, social gradient, interactionist and storied). Conclusions: A richer understanding of the personhood of individuals with profound and multiple learning disabilities can be developed by listening to more family members and allies, and this can provide a counter‐narrative to the current dominant rational view of personhood. Summary: Some philosophers say that individuals with profound and multiple learning disabilities are 'too disabled' to count as 'people'.We are worried that this way of thinking is harmful to individuals with profound and multiple learning disabilities and can upset the people who love them.We asked family members and allies of individuals with profound and multiple learning disabilities what they think a person is.They told us that a person is somebody who needs help and support, is somebody who is related to others, and is somebody we can get to know by being with them.Our research is important because it challenges philosophers who say that individuals with profound and multiple learning disabilities are not proper people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Abstract: | Background: Individuals with profound and multiple learning disabilities are at the centre of debates about what it means to be a person. These debates sometimes start from the position that a person is somebody who possesses mature cognitive abilities, such as intentional communication skills and self‐reflection (which individuals with profound and multiple learning disabilities are sometimes said to lack). However, those closest to people with profound and multiple learning disabilities are rarely consulted. This paper presents research that addresses this gap. Methods: Ten unstructured interviews were conducted with family members, friends and allies of the profound and multiple learning disabilities communities. Participants were asked to discuss what being a person meant to them, using their knowledge of supporting individuals with profound and multiple learning disabilities. Findings: Interviewees suggested that a person was fundamentally a relational being, but this relationality was described in a myriad of ways (e.g., as mutual dependence, social role, social gradient, interactionist and storied). Conclusions: A richer understanding of the personhood of individuals with profound and multiple learning disabilities can be developed by listening to more family members and allies, and this can provide a counter‐narrative to the current dominant rational view of personhood. Summary: Some philosophers say that individuals with profound and multiple learning disabilities are 'too disabled' to count as 'people'.We are worried that this way of thinking is harmful to individuals with profound and multiple learning disabilities and can upset the people who love them.We asked family members and allies of individuals with profound and multiple learning disabilities what they think a person is.They told us that a person is somebody who needs help and support, is somebody who is related to others, and is somebody we can get to know by being with them.Our research is important because it challenges philosophers who say that individuals with profound and multiple learning disabilities are not proper people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 13544187 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/bld.12652 |
