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Orienting to affect in services for people with severe or profound intellectual disabilities: A UK‐based investigation
Author(s) -
Walton Chris,
Antaki Charles,
Finlay W.M.L
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1468-3148
pISSN - 1360-2322
DOI - 10.1111/jar.12707
Subject(s) - affect (linguistics) , psychology , conversation , action (physics) , feeling , intellectual disability , conversation analysis , affect regulation , learning disability , cognition , service (business) , resource (disambiguation) , social psychology , developmental psychology , communication , psychiatry , economy , quantum mechanics , economics , physics , computer network , computer science
Background This study argues for displays of affect by people with severe or profound intellectual disabilities to be analysed in the course of everyday interactions with the people who support them. Method Conversation analysis is applied to the affective displays of residents of a social care service for people with severe or profound intellectual disabilities to identify how such displays are taken up and form the basis for further action. Results Three types of orientations to affect are identified: where the cause of the affect is unknown; where there is a proximal cause; and where the proximal cause is a prior action by a member of staff. Staff orient to affect as expressions of both feelings and cognitions, thereby providing the basis for self‐determination. Conclusions Displays of affect are a communicative resource for those with severe or profound impairments and must be studied in situ if they are to inform policy and everyday practice.