Discussion Panel: Partnership Working: Rhetoric & Realities

Over recent decades in the UK there has been an increasing rejection of the traditional dominant medical and deficit based ways of thinking about disability. The rejection of these traditional perspectives led to the development of the `social model of disability'. This alternative model rejects the idea that disability is created by one’s own body but rather it is the way society is structured and organized that creates disability. Rooted in this model, partnership research and teaching provides the opportunity for academics and people with intellectual disabilities to work together. This new way of working in academia (now expected in some circles such as UK government departments and research funding bodies) can in part, be viewed as an attempt to destabilize the historical privileging of traditional academic `expert' knowledge. Partnership working enables people with intellectual disabilities to utilize their skills and experiences in relation to knowledge production. This discussion panel will focus on the experiences and views of a group of `partnership' researchers. Two of the group have intellectual disabilities and two are employed as full time academics at the University of Manchester. The entire panel has been involved in partnership research and lecturing and all have their own differing views about some of the important issues that, we feel, fail to gain sufficient critical attention from those working in this area. The panel will begin the discussion by focusing on the following areas: • Advantages, opportunities and fluidity of roles • Ownership, control and contractual issues • Puppetry, masquerading and the dangers of academics • Competing demands and the search for good practice The panel will then invite comments and debate from all present.