Independence, Dependence, Interdependence: Some reflections on the subject and personal autonomy

Reindal, Solveig Magnus

doi:10.1080/09687599926190

Cited by 141 publications

(97 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Within the context of rehabilitation, independence has traditionally been defined in a functional sense (e.g., being independent in personal care). [78,79] However, the participants in this study conceptualized independence as being autonomous: making decisions and exercising control in their lives. In the process of gradually building their autonomy over time, they recognized that they were interdependent and described the important role that others played in supporting them to work towards their life goals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“I’ve never been a yes person”: Decision-making participation and self-conceptualization after severe traumatic brain injury

Knox

Douglas

Bigby

2016

Disability and Rehabilitation

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Purpose: Although adults who sustain a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) require support to make decisions in their lives, little is known about their experience of this process. The aim of this study was to explore how participation in decision making contributes to self-conceptualization in adults with severe TBI. Method: We used constructivist grounded theory methods. Data included 20 in-depth interviews with adults with severe TBI. Through a process of constant comparison, analysis involved open and focused coding until clear categories emerged and data saturation was achieved. Results: Self-conceptualization emerged as a complex and multifaceted process, as individuals with TBI aimed to reestablish a sense of autonomy. We describe a recursive relationship in which decision-making participation assists the dynamic construction of self, and self-concept contributes to the experience of making decisions. The role of an individual's social support network in acting as a bridge between participation and self-conceptualization is presented. Conclusions: Findings emphasize that contributing to decisions about one's own goals across a range of life areas can reinforce a positive self-concept. It is vital that supporters understand that participation in decision making provides a pathway to conceptualizing self and aim to maximize the person's participation in the decision-making process. ä IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONPrevious research has identified that the experience of sustaining TBI has a significant impact on a person's conceptualization of self. This study identified that decision-making experiences play an important role in the ongoing process of self-conceptualization after injury. Decision-making experiences can reinforce a person's self-concept or lead them to revise (positively or negatively) their sense of self. By maximizing the person's decision-making participation, those around them can support them to develop positive self-attributes and contribute to shaping their future goals. ARTICLE HISTORY

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“I’ve never been a yes person”: Decision-making participation and self-conceptualization after severe traumatic brain injury

Knox

Douglas

Bigby

2016

Disability and Rehabilitation

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“…This means that focus is not directed at performing activities without assistance, but rather at being able to control and decide what support and assistance is needed in order to achieve chosen goals and do what one wants to do (Brisenden, 1986;Reindal, 1999;Fine & Glendinning, 2005;Deguara, Jelassi, Micallef & Callus, 2012). According to the principle of autonomy, everyone should have the same right to self-determination regardless of disability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiences of using Bestic, an eating aid for people with intellectual disabilities

Dag

Svanelöv

Gustafsson

2015

J Intellect Disabil

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This article reports on the results of a pilot study exploring if and how the meal situations of persons with intellectual disabilities (PWIDs) in need of help and support during meal situations was affected by an eating aid. This article also analyzes how PWIDs and their assistants perceived their experiences of using an eating aid during meal situations. Data for the study were collected in interviews with PWIDs and their assistants. The results are presented in five themes: Independence in the meal situation, Motivation to use the eating aid, Functions of the eating aid, Social aspects of using the eating aid and Design corresponding to intellectual disability. The eating aid's function, user-friendliness and the assistant's attitudes appear to be crucial for using the eating aid. Another important aspect is the introductory and training phase which must be fundamentally adapted to suit PWIDs learning and understanding abilities. When these aspects are controlled, the eating aid can be a tool for increased independence during meal situations for PWIDs who are unable to move their arms or hands.

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“…By putting leprosy center stage, we emphasize the actors' interdependence (Reindal, 1999) and go beyond the questions of how independent or not the actors are, who is an active agent, and who not. The people with leprosy are in need of nurses, and the nurses are in need of people with leprosy.…”

Section: Alternative Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Writing Disability into Colonial Histories of Humanitarianism

Trigt¹,

Legêne²

2016

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In this paper, the relation between humanity and disability is addressed by discussing the agency of people with disabilities in colonial histories of humanitarianism. People with disabilities were often-as indicated by relevant sources-regarded and treated as passive, suffering fellow humans, in particular in the making and distribution of colonial photography. In the context of humanitarianism, is it possible to understand these photographs differently? This paper analyzes one photograph-from the collection of the Tropenmuseum Amsterdam-of people with leprosy in the protestant leprosarium Bethesda, in the Dutch colony Suriname, at the beginning of the twentieth century. It discusses the way the sitters in the photograph have been framed, and how the photograph has been made and used. The photograph makes it difficult to register agency, but easily reaffirms existing colonial categories. Therefore, this paper also uses another strategy of analysis. By following Actor-Network Theory, focusing on non-human actors, the second part of this paper offers a new and more convincing interpretation of the photograph. This strategy (a) understands agency as a phenomenon of interdependence instead of independence, and (b) approaches photographs as both real and performed. Combining the written history of humanitarianism and disability, it allows new histories of people with disabilities to develop, histories that move beyond the categories of colonialism.

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Independence, Dependence, Interdependence: Some reflections on the subject and personal autonomy

Cited by 141 publications

References 13 publications

“I’ve never been a yes person”: Decision-making participation and self-conceptualization after severe traumatic brain injury

“I’ve never been a yes person”: Decision-making participation and self-conceptualization after severe traumatic brain injury

Experiences of using Bestic, an eating aid for people with intellectual disabilities

Writing Disability into Colonial Histories of Humanitarianism

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