“Welcome to the Real World” Inclusive Research with People with Learning Disabilities: A Doctoral Journey

Many people with learning disabilities have been and are still been excluded from an active involvement in research. In the UK, this position has been challenged by people with learning disabilities, their supporters and academic allies, through the advancement of inclusive research. But calls have been made for a clarification of the roles that can be played by these research supporters and researchers, to expose asymmetrical relations and to advance existing practices, as well as to develop a better understanding of quality in inclusive research. In response to these matters, this paper offers an account of the experiences of a nondisabled doctoral researcher of “doing” inclusive research with people with learning disabilities. It will present critical insights into inclusive ways of doing research from a learning disability perspective, while offering data that is of relevance to researchers working beyond the field of learning disabilities and seeking the active participation of different groups in the research process. Consequently, people whose first language is not research can have a say in the production of knowledge and they can be credited not only as members of research communities but also of their societies.