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Learning disability against itself: The self-injury/self-harm conundrum
Lovell, Andy
Lovell, Andy
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EPub Date
Publication Date
2007-10-17
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Adobe PDF, 174.63 KB
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Abstract
The article begins with a critical look at the existing literature explaining self-injury by people with significant learning disabilities and self-harm by those with mental health difficulties. It suggests that the different conceptualizations are perhaps less distinct than might initially appear, and that behavioural similarities between those with and those without learning disabilities might be greater than previously believed. The notion of 'career' is presented as a means of explaining the process by which people with learning disabilities engage in self-injury and subsequently integrate it into their lives. Data are subsequently presented from a number of life histories of people with learning disabilities to illustrate the development of self-injury over the life course. The findings of the research indicate that the development and consolidation of self-injury over time conforms to the expectations of a career and provides reason to question the contemporary separate categorization of the behaviour of people with significant learning disabilities. The evidence suggests that the relationship between self-injury and learning disability is best explicable in terms of its intelligibility, rational behaviour in the context of the individual's life.
Citation
British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 2008, 36(2), pp. 109-121
Publisher
Wiley
Journal
British Journal of Learning Disabilities
Research Unit
DOI
10.1111/j.1468-3156.2007.00477
PubMed ID
PubMed Central ID
Type
Article
Language
en
Description
This is the author's PDF version of an article published in British journal of learning disabilities© 2008. The definitive version is available at www3.interscience.wiley.com
Series/Report no.
ISSN
1354-4187
EISSN
1468-3156