Making madness: Mothers as advocates and activists in the territory of ‘disability’ and ‘special educational needs’
About the project:

We are a group of mothers who have advocated for children labelled with 'special educational needs' in a professional capacity as practitioners and researchers, as well as our for own children. Some of us are mothers of disabled children and have had direct experience of being identified as ‘overly-emotional’, ‘difficult’, ‘unreasonable’, and sometimes ‘ill/mad’ in the course of trying to ensure our children’s needs are understood and met by professionals.

We want to extend the conversation to other mothers with similar experiences. We would like to invite you to join us and a group of other mothers from Canada and the UK of children with disabilities or 'special educational needs' to discuss the following questions:

1) What are mothers' experiences of seeking a positive outcome for their child and family, advocating for their child in education?
2) How do mothers think they are understood, responded to and represented when undertaking advocacy work?
3) What are the implications of these insights for policy and practice?

What the research involves:

The research will involve meeting online for two brief focus group discussions (two sessions, June 24th and June 30th, 9-10 am EST). Each group will last no more than an hour, and will involve between 5-8 mothers and two of the university researchers. Some of the mothers will be from the Greater Toronto Region, and others from Yorkshire, England, where researchers on our team live and work.

After we have met and got to know each other a little we will talk through the planned activities and check you are still happy to take part. We will fully understand if you change your mind and decide the project is not for you.

Who can take part:

Anyone in Yorkshire, England or Greater Toronto Area, Canada who identifies as the following:
1) a mother to a child or children of children with special educational needs or a disability, and
2) having engaged in activism or advocacy relating to their child's special educational needs or a disability.

If you're not sure you qualify, please fill out this form with your contact information, and we will reach out to you to discuss.
Name(s) *
Email *
City and country where you live *
Age *
Do you identify as a mother to a child or children with 'special educational needs' or a disability? *
Have you engaged in activism or advocacy relating to your child's special educational needs or a disability, either at present or in the past? *
I consent to being contacted by the researchers, to share more information about the focus groups and how I can participate *
I would like to reserve my spot in the June 2021 focus group series *
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