Research, relationships and making understanding: a look at Brantlinger's Darla and the value of case study research

Abstract

This article examines Brantlinger and colleagues' longitudinal case study Fighting for Darla; Challenges for family care and professional responsibility [Brantlinger, E.A., S.M. Klein, and S.L. Guskin. 1994. Fighting for Darla; Challenges for family care and professional responsibility. New York: Teachers College Press]. I describe how this piece resonated with me as a mother of a boy considered to have significant disabilities and how it informed my practice as an emerging qualitative researcher. I explore the relationship between this form of methodology and the ‘subjects’ agency referring to my own research and others in the humanities. Brantlinger's work here is historical in its documentation of the experience of a teenager with a label of autism who has not been supported in developing conventional communication and who becomes pregnant and has a child. It is illustrative of the unique contributions she made towards understanding the complexities of daily life for families with children with disabilities. Two decades have passed since this study was published and yet the methodology and lessons learned remain important to informing those of us who value the humanity of people with significant disabilities and respect their sense of agency. Finally, the possible implications for the activist researcher, such as Brantlinger, are discussed.

Keywords:

• agency
• disability
• sexuality
• qualitative research

Notes on contributor

Janet Story Sauer is an Associate Professor at Lesley University, Cambridge, MA. She taught children in Africa, on the Navajo Reservation, in Boston, Ohio and Iowa. Sauer co-teaches with people with disabilities, their family members, and guests from other disciplines to illustrate the complex and interdisciplinary nature of disability. She has published several research articles, a book, and co-edited a special double issue for the Review of Disability Studies Journal titled ‘Writing the global family: International perspectives on disability studies and family narratives.’ Her research focuses on examining relationships in inclusive contexts, the nature of creativity as access to literacy, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Sauer's advocacy efforts for the inclusion of students with disabilities in community and educational contexts have also led her to explore co-constructions in portraiture research methodology.