'Chocolate makes you autism': impairment, disability and childhood identities

This paper discusses perceptions and experiences of impairment and disability from the perspectives of learning disabled children, their parents and their social workers. The author reports on findings from her doctoral study that adults often fail to take into account the views and experiences of learning disabled chidren. As a result, these children developed their own interpretations of impairment and disability based on their experiences and interactions with others. Whilst this indicates that they are active social interpreters, it also suggests that adults should make greater efforts to inform and consult learning disabled children. The author concludes by reflecting on the relevance of these findings to contemporary theories of disability and childhood.

Understanding and negotiating identity: Children from cross-community families in public care in Northern Ireland.

In Northern Ireland, most research on the impact upon children of living through the 'troubles' and in a divided society has assumed that children are from either the Catholic or Protestant community. There has been very little researchwith children from cross-community families who have one parent from a Catholic background and one from a Protestant background. it is know, however, that these children are over-represented in the public care system in Northern Ireland. The study reported in this paper addresses this gap in knowledge by exploring the experiences and views of children from cross-community families who are in public care in northern Ireland. The study has key messages for the development of services for looked after children from cross-community families, if these are to be delivered in accordance with legislative duties in Northern Ireland and in an anti-sectarian manner.

Methodological issues for qualitative research with learning disabled children

This paper discusses key methodological issues for qualitative research with learning disabled children, based on the author's experience of involving learning disabled children in her doctoral study. The study was founded on the social model of disability and a sociological understanding of childhood that recognizes the abilities of disabled children as competent research participants. Issues that arose throughout the research process, from the early stages of gaining access to children, to communication challenges for interviewing learning disabled children, and the analysis and dissemination of data, are discussed. Within this context, this paper explores key methodological issues for researchers with regard to interviewing learning disabled children and actively involving them in qualitative research.