[BlindResearch] Single-Subjects Research Design

[Arielle Silverman]

Hi Justin and all,
Generally speaking, I think any research method can be used for good or for ill, depending on the research question being asked, what is measured, what intervention (if any) is tested, and what is done with the results.
It is certainly possible to use a single-case study to generate in-depth knowledge about someone's unique experience that can be used to inform disability justice goals or interventions. I don't think it is ever a bad idea to study a variety of research methodologies that you may or may not use in your work.
Personally I am more concerned with your professor's ABA background than with the subject matter of the course. For those who aren't aware, autistic people have argued that Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is basically the autism version of vision-centered educational practices for blind children. ABA systematically rewards autistic kids for acting less autistic or for acting in ways that the teachers want, regardless of their disability-related challenges. This is very similar to forcing people with low vision to use print or to travel without a cane in order to pass as sighted. I have witnessed firsthand the impact on autistic young people who survived ABA. You can learn more here:
https://stopabasupportautistics.home.blog/2019/08/11/the-great-big-aba-opposition-resource-list/
Even in a methods course, I suspect your professor's philosophy and orientation toward disabled people will frustrate you and inhibit your learning.

HTH,
Arielle


From: BlindResearch <blindresearch-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Justin Mark Hideaki Salisbury (he/him) via BlindResearch
Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2022 1:40 PM
To: blindresearch at nfbnet.org
Subject: [BlindResearch] Single-Subjects Research Design

Hi everyone,

Separate thread for a separate topic: Single-Subjects Research Design

As faculty keep leaving my PhD program, the course offerings are getting really thin. It looks like I'll be able to take a course in single-subjects research design, so I've been reading about it. I am trying to figure out if or how such a research design will be useful. I understand that Applied Behavioral Analysis practitioners use it a lot, which is what the professor is. I also hear that the autistic community rails on ABA as ableist. I want to give this professor and this course a chance, but I also have my own goals and want to be sure that I'm getting as far along in them as possible.

I am a justice-oriented, budding researcher in blindness education, and I know that the reductionism or otherwise hyperfocusing on one person can be a part of epistemic violence. I'm feeling resistant to taking this course because I worry that such methods would not help me with the big picture liberation of the blind if I'm just focusing on one individual blind person for an entire quantitative study where I just measure the heck of out one person. It sounds very much like the assessment-heavy approach to blind rehab in what President Riccobono calls "the vision-centered approach." Maybe there's a way to make that work liberatory for the blind. On the other hand, maybe I could do studies where I measure the effectiveness of an immersion experience in the blind community, where the subject is a sighted person. I don't know.

I'm putting this out on this list because I'm asking you all to tell me if my hesitation is wrong, unfounded, or just coming from incomplete information. Maybe my hesitation is right. I'm curious what you all will say.

Thanks in advance,

Justin



Justin MH Salisbury (he/him)
Graduate Student
Department of Education
College of Education and Social Services
The University of Vermont
Email: Justin.Salisbury at UVM.edu<mailto:Justin.Salisbury at UVM.edu>
Website: https://www.uvm.edu/cess/cdci/profiles/justin-mark-hideaki-salisbury-he/him/his

"We must always take sides.  Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."

Elie Weisel, Acceptance Speech, Nobel Peace Prize, Oslo, 1986

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