Voices of Children: Storytelling by Intellectually Disabled

Ridhi Sethi
M.Ed Dissertation, 2006
University of Delhi

 

Abstract

 

In this study, the researcher makes an attempt to construct the life of children who are intellectually disabled (mentally challenged), using their stories and weaving them into a narrative that helps us understand them better. This signifies a major shift in direction of viewing special children as active and as co- constructors of their experiential knowledge. In this paper, the author describes the lives of seven children four boys and three girls as expressed by them and adults in their lives. The data was collected based on the rationale that mild intellectually disabled (mentally challenged) with communication abilities can construct their own narratives and also invent stories. The study was conducted in a special school for intellectually disabled children in Delhi. The stories were analysed using content analysis as major themes and categories were identified and studied.