This week we are really proud to announce the publication of an article in the Journal of Literary and Cultural Disability Studies written by two of our co-researchers, Sally Whitney and Katy Evans. Sally and Katy are part of our Co-Researcher Collective, a group of disabled young people co-leading Living Life to the Fullest.

Last September, we went to the Lancaster Disability Research Conference 2018 (#CeDR18) to host a workshop on our co-production approaches and methods in Living Life to the Fullest. Sally and Katy’s article details their experiences of attending the conference and their experiences as researchers in the project. Below we share a snippet from the article:

What Were the Aims of Attending the Conference?

Sally: My aim for the conference was to represent our project, Living Life to the Fullest, the best I could. I knew I could enthusiastically communicate my zest for the project. I also knew that the film we were showing—Living Life to the Fullest: The Co-Researcher Collective (2018)—stood for itself and that my fellow co-researchers on film were amply able to promote our project because we each believe in what we are doing.

Katy: Disability studies was always so much more than a degree to me. It was an opportunity to develop my identity as a disabled person and be proud of who I am. It was a welcome liberation after a childhood dominated by the medical model. Through disability studies, I began to accept all aspects of myself including my impairment, and that society’s reactions to it are not a personal attack on me. After graduating, I used my disability studies understanding in various jobs but missed being immersed in the research. I was also looking to develop my understanding around learning disability to enhance my current work at Changing Our Lives. In July I became a co-researcher in the LLttF project. It is really exciting to be working in collaboration with other disabled young people, each with a unique perspective and shared vision to shed light on subjects that often go unspoken about.

(Evans and Whitney 2019: 231-232)

You can access the article here. If for any reason you can’t access it, please email k.liddiard@sheffield.ac.uk

Reference

Evans, K. and Whitney, S. (2019) Comment from the Field. Journal of Literary and Cultural Disability Studies, 13: 2, 231 – 236

Acknowledgements

Our thanks go to the Journal of Literary and Cultural Disability Studies, particularly Owen Barden, Liverpool Hope University for his support through the production process.