The Two of Us project: An exploration of the relationships of people with intellectual disability in different social contexts

Abstract

Background: This study is inclusive research. Inclusive research is when people with disability are involved as researchers. The aim of this project was to focus on relationships that people with intellectual disability have and to find what makes these relationships work. Another aim of this project was to share stories about these relationships at a big event.Methods: People with intellectual disability that were interested in participating were asked to pick a person whose relationship was important to them. Overall, seven pairs took part in the project. We interviewed the pairs together and asked them:• How did the relationship start?• What makes the relationship strong?• Why is the relationship important to each person? Later, participants were invited to turn their interview responses into a relationship story that was displayed as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations for the Centre for Disability Studies (CDS).Findings: We looked through the transcripts to find out how the relationships work.We found four major themes-relationships change over time, important parts of the relationship, relationship challenges, and what makes the relationship work.Conclusions: There were many successes in this project. It was the first time that Jack and Seren had done inclusive research together and we learnt a lot about how to work well together. The banners shown at CDS's 20th anniversary event celebrated relationships and showed members of the public a range of relationships involving people with intellectual disability.