Val Williams

Qualifications

Role

Reader in Disability, Policy and Practice

Contact details

Direct line: 0117 3310971

Email: val.williams@bristol.ac.uk

Biography

My first career was in education, where I was a classroom teacher in special schools during the 1970’s. This introduced me to a vast range of individuals with learning disabilities, as well as their families and supporters, all of whom helped me to learn. My second career, during the 1980’s and 90’s was in Further Education, where I worked with people with learning disabilities, as well as other disabled students of all ages. I was active in introducing and supporting inclusion for disabled students across college, and my final post there was as cross college disability co-ordinator.

I joined Norah Fry Research Centre in 1997, as a research assistant on a project about family carers (‘In Their Own Right’; Wililams and Robinson, 2000).  I also carried out my PhD during this period (Williams, 2002a) which was an analysis of discourse based on an inclusive research project with people with learning disabilities.  I am now a senior research fellow at Norah Fry, and I have worked on several inclusive research studies (for instance Gramlich et al., 2002; Williams et al., 2007), and have also published about methodology and paradigms of inclusive research. In terms of topics, my research has covered a range of issues relevant to the lives of people with learning disabilities, including:

• families and carers
• direct payments support
• work and employment issues
• community based day activities
• mental health support needs of young people with learning disabilities
• financial issues for people with learning disabilities
• accessible information
• Further Education for young people with learning disabilities
• commissioning for new forms of support
• communication skills of personal assistants, in working with direct payments users with learning disabilities

Research interests

Two central themes have dominated my research. These are:

a) inclusive research: including disabled people as active researchers;

b) analysing naturally-occurring communication.

Both these themes were developed during my earlier teaching careers, and were represented in my M Ed (1979), my activities in leading a teachers’ research group (1980-81), and during my time in FE (for example, CLASS, 1986 and Hortham Memories, 1992).

During my time at Norah Fry Research Centre, I have developed and pioneered methods for including people with learning disabilities as researchers, and have made central contributions towards theorising this new ‘paradigm’ of research. Essentially, inclusive research raises epistemological questions about whose knowledge counts in social research, and I have discussed these questions in academic papers, articles and conference presentations, drawing on my own practical experience of inclusive projects. I am frequently asked to contribute to conferences and to assist others who are developing inclusive research with people with learning disabilities.

My other central interest is in communication. My M Ed was a research degree, in which I explored the relationship between language development and imaginative play in children with severe learning disabilities. During my PhD work (Williams, 2002), I was able to explore and refine discourse analysis (DA) methodologies. My thesis brought together my two central interests, as it explored and described inclusive research as a social activity, using the tools of discourse analysis (DA) and conversation analysis (CA). My more recent work on ‘Skills for Support’ (Williams et al., 2007)  is recognised as significant, since it questions the nature and relationship between researcher and researched, and the practical implications of discourse research. I participate in activities at the Cardiff Health and Communication Research Centre with Professor Srikant Sarangi, and have presented papers in panels led by Dr. Charles Antaki at Loughborough.

Current research projects

‘Listen to what I want’: a study about the implications of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) for major decision-making by people with learning disabilities (Social Care Institute for Excellence)

Recent projects

Skills for Support (2005-2007): communication skills of personal assistants working with people with learning disabilities(Big Lottery Fund, in partnership with West of England Centre for Inclusive Living) (Williams et al., 2007)

Have your say about college (2007). A short study for the South West Learning and Skills Council about FE provision for young people with learning disabilities in Somerset. (Everett and Williams, 2007)

Where do you want to go next? Critical factors in care planning for people with learning disabilities, and their financial implications (2006-7) A regional study about the commissioning process, and factors in planning.  (Williams and Battleday, 2008)

Shaping our Future: a scoping and consultation exercise to determine research priorities in Learning Disability for the next ten years. (2007-8) A national review of research, and consultation exercise for National Institute of Health Research (Service, Delivery and Organisation). (Williams et al., in press)

Publications

Books

Williams, V., Abbott, D., Rodgers, J., Ward, L. and Watson, D. (2007). Money, rights and risks: Financial issues for people with learning disabilities in the UK. London  Friends Provident Foundation.

Williams, V and Robinson, C (2000) In Their Own Right: The Carers Act and carers of people with learning disabilities(70 pp) Bristol: The Policy Press

Gramlich, S., McBride, G., Snelham, N. and Myers, B. with Williams, V. and   Simons, K. (2002) Journey to Independence: what self advocates tell us about direct payments.(60pp)  Kidderminster: British Institute for Learning Disabilities.

Chapters in books

Williams, V. and Holman, A. (2006) Direct payments and autonomy: issues for people with learning difficulties. Chapter 5: pp 65-78 in J. Leece and J. Bornat (eds) Developments in Direct Payments. Bristol: The Policy Press.

Williams, V. and England, M. (2005) Supporting people with learning difficulties to do their own research. Chapter 3, pp 30-40 in L. Lowes and I. Hulatt (eds) Involving Service Users in Health and Social Care Research. Abingdon: Routledge.

Tarleton, B., Williams, V., Palmer, N. and Gramlich, S. (2004) ‘An equal relationship?’ people with learning difficulties getting involved in research. Chapter 4, pp 73-90 in M. Smyth and E. Williamson (eds) Researchers and their ‘subjects’: ethics, power, knowledge and consent. Bristol: The Policy Press.

Palmer, N, Peacock, C, Turner, F, Vasey, B & Williams, V (1999): Telling People What We Think. Chapter 4, pp 33-46  in Therapy and Learning Difficulties,eds. Swain, J and French, S (Butterworth Heinemann)

Clark, D., Garland, R. and Williams, V. (2005) Promoting Empowerment: your life can change if you want it to. ( Chapter 5: pp 67-83 in: P. Cambridge and S. Carnaby (eds) Person Centred Planning and Care Management for People with Learning Disabilities (London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers).

Reports

Williams, V. and Battleday, S. (2007) Where do you want to go next?Critical factors in care planning for people with learning disabilities, and their financial implications. Report for South West Regional Centre for Excellence.

Everett, G. and Williams, V. (2007) Have your say about collegeA report on FE provision for young people with learning disabilities in Somerset. Report for Learning and Skills Council.

Williams, V., Marriott, A. and Townsley, R. (in press: 2008) Shaping our Future: a scoping and consultation exercise to determine research priorities in Learning Disability for the next ten years. Report for the National Co-ordinating Centre for NHS Service Delivery and Organisation R&D (NCCSDO)

Cole, A. and Williams, V. (2006) Having a good day? Report of a survey of community based day opportunities for adults with learning disabilities. (81pp) (Social Care Institute for Excellence).

Williams, V. (2006) Analytical Report on ‘Having a Good Day?’: community based day opportunities for adults with learning disabilities. (16pp) (Social Care Institute for Excellence).

Williams, V., Abbott, D. and Jefferson, E. (2005)A Taste of IndependenceAn evaluation of Youth PASS and the Youth PASS transition project
Youth PASS report 

Beyer, S., Grove, B., Schneider, J., Simons, K., Williams, V., Heyman, A., Swift, P. and Krijnen-Kemp, E. (2004) Working Lives: the role of day centres in supporting people with learning disabilities into employment. The Department for Work and Pensions, Report 203 (ISBN: 1 84123 643 8)

Williams, V, Tarleton, B. and Swindon People First (2004) Working Lives: a research project about day centres and jobs for people with learning disabilities. The Department for Work and Pensions: an easier to read booklet that goes with Research Report 203.

Williams, V. (2003) Has anything changed? (24pp) Unpublished review produced for the Social Care Institute for Excellence (peer-reviewed, accepted and incorporated into SCIE (2004)  Position Paper 03: Has service user participation made a difference to social care services?

Williams, V. and Johnson, R. (2004) Nice job – if you can get it. Work and people with learning difficulties. (39pp)
Report and accessible summary produced for SEQUAL project (a project funded by the EU Social Fund).

Williams, V. and Watson, D. (2001) Behind the Scenes: Work in Europe (39pp)(London: MENCAP)

Short Works and Departmental Working Papers (recent)

Williams, V. with Skills for Support Team (2006) Survey Report: Skills for Support

Williams, V. with Skills for Support Team (2006) It’s About Respect (Report 2 from ‘Skills for Support’ project)

Academic Journal Papers (refereed)

Williams, V., with St Quintin, P. and Hoadley, S. (2006) ‘Take your partners’: reflections on a partnership project in learning disability research.
Action Research   4 (3): 295-314. 

Williams, V. and Heslop, P. (2006) Filling the emotional gap at transition: young people with learning difficulties and friendship. Tizard Learning Disability Review 11 (4): 28-37.

Williams, V., Simons, K. and Swindon People First Research Team (2005) More Researching Together. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 32: 1-9. (Main author 95% with contributions from three last-named authors).

Williams, V. (2005) ‘Did you solve it yourself?’: evaluation of narratives of self-identity by people with learning disabilities. Communication and Medicine 2(1) (2005), pp. 77–89.

Williams, V. and Heslop, P. (2005) Mental health support needs of people with a learning difficulty: a medical or a social model? Disability and Society, 20 (3): 231-245.  

Williams, V., Simons, K., Gramlich, S., McBride, G., Snelham, N. and Myers, B. (2003) Paying the Piper and Calling the Tune? The relationship between parents and direct payments for people with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 16 (3): 219-228.

Fernandez, S., Kovari, J., Vulterini, P. and Williams, V. (2002) Let’s keep in contact with Europe – a joint European research project about lifelong education for adults with learning difficulties. British Journal of Special Education 29 (2): 83-90.

Robinson, C. and Williams, V. (2002) Carers of people with learning disabilities and their experience of the Carers Act 95. British Journal of Social Work  

Williams, V. and Robinson, C. (2001) ‘He’ll finish up caring for me’: people with learning disabilities and mutual support in the family. British Journal of Learning Disabilities   

Williams, V. and Robinson, C. (2001) More than One Wavelength: identifying, understanding and resolving conflicts of interest between people with intellectual disabilities and their family carers. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 14 (1): 30-46.

Williams, V. and Robinson, C. (2000) Tick This, Tick That: the views of people with learning disabilities on their care assessments. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 4 (4): 293-305.

Williams, V. (1999) Researching Together. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 27 (2): 48-51.

Williams, V., Davidson, B., Hammond, J., Johnson, H. and Silverman, S. (1981) Teachers Greeting Children in ESN (S) Schools. British Journal of Mental Subnormality, 9: 83-89.

Selection of Conference Contributions (refereed)

Selected recent conferences

Williams, V. (2007) Paper given at ESRC funded seminar: How can we work together  as researchers? Milton Keynes, May 2007.

Williams (2007) Paperr given as part of panel on ‘disordered talk’ for Gothenburg
International Pragmatics Association (July, 2007): Skills for Support: strategies for enabling people with learning disabilities to manage their own lives.

Williams, V. (2007) The use of shared knowledge in ‘person-centred’ interactions: people with learning disabilities and their personal assistants Paper given at ESRC one-day conference: Interactions between People with a Disorder and Professionals.  Convenor: Charles Antaki.

Williams, V. (2006) Getting Good Support Paper presented at the Fourth Interdisciplinary Conference on Communication, Medicine and Ethics (COMET). Cardiff, UK, June 2006.

Williams, V. (2006) Doing Support Talk (paper accepted and given as part of an invited international panel at 2006 COMET conference: Communication, Medicine and Health).

Williams, V. (2004) Competence and incompetence:  how inclusive research can offer new possibilities for the identity record of people with learning difficulties.British Association for Applied Linguistics; conference Reading, July 2004.

Williams, V. (2003) Defining yourself through talk: involvement in research by people diagnosed as having a learning difficulty. Paper presented at the First Interdisciplinary Conference on Communication, Medicine and Ethics (COMET), Cardiff UK, June 2003.

Selection of Conference Contributions (not refereed)

Williams et al. (2007)  ‘Supporting people with learning disabilities to get a life: developing the workforce’. Two national conferences with BILD, CSIP.

Williams, V. (2006) Supported Decision Making. Paper presented in post-conference international seminar on decision-making.  Cardiff University, Health Communication Research Centre, June 2006.

Williams, V. with Ponting, L. and Brookes, M. (2006) Skills for Support: personal assistants for people with learning difficulties. Paper presented at 2^nd European Congress of IASSID, Maastricht, August 2006.

Williams, V. with Jefferson, E. (2004) Mind the Gap. Paper presented at IASSID International Congress, Montpelier, August 2004).

Williams, V. (2003) Looking back at transition. Paper presented in online conference, ‘Count Us In’, hosted by the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities, July 3^rd 2003.

McBride, G. and Williams, V. (2000) Researching together: Journey to Independence (paper presented at IASSID International Congress, Seattle, August 2000).

Recent professional Journal Papers

Williams, V. with Ford, K., Ponting, L., Rudge, P., and Francis, A. (2006) Including People with Learning Difficulties. Learning Disability Today, 6 (3): Autumn 2006. pp. 10-16.

Ponting, L., Ford, K. with Williams, V. (2006) Getting my own PA. Community Connexions, 2.

Williams, V. (with Rachel Mason and Alison Short)  Community Care piece on Mind the Gap

Heslop, P., Williams, V. and Hoadley, S. (2005) What Friends Are For.  Young Minds Magazine, 77, pp 16-17.

Swift, P., Beyer, S., Grove, B., Schneider, J., Williams V., Heyman, A. and Krijnen-Kemp, E. (2004) The difference a job makes. Living Well, 4 (3) pp4-7.

Williams, V., Simons, K. with Swindon People First (2002) Can Adults who do not use words have control over their own lives? PMLD Link, 14 (2) Issue 42: pp 7-11.

Other Publications

Williams, V. (2006) How can local authorities increase the take-up of Direct Payment schemes to adults with learning disabilities? (RiPFA Outline 3: Research Into Practice for Adults: summary of current relevant research)

Williams, V. (2002b) Being Researchers with the label of Learning Difficulty: an analysis of talk in a project carried out by a Self-Advocacy Research Group. Unpublished PhD thesis: Open University, School of Health and Social Welfare.

Williams, V. (2000) Social Skill Development. Article in Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Social Work. M. Davies (ed), Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.

Teaching

As Teaching and Learning coordinator for Norah Fry Research Centre, I am involved in developing our teaching opportunities.

I am particularly interested in developing methods of teaching which involve end-users (e.g. students, pupils or disabled people generally).

With colleagues, I have led the development of a Masters programme at Norah Fry Research Centre, which has just completed its first successful year. The programme attracts a range of professionals who seek to include people with learning disabilities in their work, as well as graduates wishing to enter this field. Most of our current students are part-time, and the programme is taught in ‘blocks’ of 3 days.

MSc in Inclusive Theory and Practice: empowering people with learning disabilities         

    Development of programme, and programme director
    Core units in: Inclusive Research with disabled people;
    Participation in Policy Making; Including Students’ Voices

I am the supervisor for one PhD student, whose work is about the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act (2005), and I am the main contact point for applicants who wish to study for a PhD with staff at Norah Fry Research Centre. I also direct one unit on the Educational Psychology doctoral programme, and supervise doctoral dissertation students.

Alongside our academic teaching, we are seeking to expand our work in consultation, training and development. I have previously developed and taught programmes that are aimed at people with learning disabilities themselves, especially in the field of research skills training, and I have recently engaged in consultation work with young people with learning disabilities in education and with FE college staff.

2006 PhD supervision

Main academic supervisor for Marcus Jepson, who joined NFRC as a PhD student  in October 2006: The Implications of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) for people with learning disabilities.