Work

‘It Makes Me Feel Confident’: A Community Based Participatory Study of Experiences of Employment for People With Intellectual Disabilities

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: A social enterprise brewery requested help from researchers to understand their employment opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities ('trainees'). A community-based participatory framework (CBPR) was used to develop the research. METHOD: Digital storytelling was selected to enable trainees to express their views about their work. Six participants created digital stories with support from researchers. Transcripts of the stories were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. FINDINGS: Three main themes were developed: 'Learning new skills'; 'We do good work'; and 'I belong at the brewery', each with several subthemes. One overarching theme, 'I feel more confident' was developed to represent the ways in which different aspects of the work had developed their confidence. CONCLUSION: Working within the brewery seemed to have both immediate and far-reaching benefits for participants. Further research would be needed to better understand the wider impact on the local community.

Source: Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities

DOI: 10.1111/jar.70310

Authors: Deanna Gallichan, Chloe Deacon, Karen Gresty, Simon Rundle

Institution: University of Plymouth

Language: English

Topic: Disability Education and Employment

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,600