Biography - Melanie Nind

I began my teaching career in the school of a long-stay institution (Harperbury Hospital) where I worked with colleagues to change the curriculum and to develop the approach of Intensive Interaction.

My primary interest in learning disabilities is in supporting learning, communication and emotional well-being. This has taken me into the realms of the social history of education and advocacy and critiques of the normalization movement and concepts of age-appropriateness. I was also involved in collecting and editing the stories of family members for the Witnesses to Change book. I led a series of seminars on Concepts of Access for People with Learning Disabilities, and I am currently involved in another concerned with pushing the boundaries of participatory research, both funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. I have a strong interest in methodology, editing International Journal of Research and Method in Education, co-directing the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods, and recently having completed an ESRC-funded study of quality and capacity-building in inclusive research (see www.doingresearchinclusively.org).

Recent and relevant publications

• Nind, M. and Vinha, M. (2013) Doing research inclusively: Bridges to multiple possibilities in inclusive research, British Journal of Learning Disabilities, i1-8. DOI: 10.1111/bld.12013.
• Child, S. and Nind, M. (2012) Sociometric methods and difference: A force for good - or yet more harm? Disability & Society, i1-12 DOI:10.1080/09687599.2012.741517.
• Seale, J., Nind, M. and Simmons, B. (2012) Transforming  positive risk-taking practices: the possibilities of creativity and resilience in learning disability contexts, Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, i1-16.
• Nind, M. (2011) Participatory data analysis: A step too far?, Qualitative Research, 11(4), pp. 349-63.
• Nind, M., Flewitt, R. and Payler, J. (2010) The social experience of early childhood for children with learning disabilities: Inclusion, competence and agency, British Journal of Sociology of Education, 31(6), pp. 653-70.
• Nind, M. and Seale, J. (2009) Concepts of access for people with learning difficulties: Towards a shared understanding, Disability & Society, 24(3), pp. 273-87.
• Nind, M. (2009) Promoting the emotional well-being of people with profound and multiple learning disabilities: a holistic approach through Intensive Interaction. In Pawlyn, G. and Carnaby, S. (eds) Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities: Nursing Complex Needs, Oxford, Blackwell (pp.62-77).
• Nind, M. and Seale, J. (eds) (2009) Understanding and Promoting Access for People with Learning Difficulties. London, Routledge.
• Samuel. J. and Nind, M. (2008) An evaluation of Intensive Interaction in community living settings for adults with profound intellectual disabilities, Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 12(2), pp. 111-126.
• Nind, M. (2008) Learning difficulties and social class: exploring the intersection through family narratives, International Studies in Sociology of Education, 18(2), pp. 87-98.
• Nind, M. (2007) Supporting lifelong learning for people with profound and multiple learning difficulties, Support for Learning, 22(3), pp. 111-15.
• Nind, M. (2006) 'Stereotyped behaviour: resistance by people with profound learning disabilities'. In Mitchell, D. et al., (eds) Exploring Experiences of Advocacy by People with Learning Disabilities: Testimonies of Resistance, London, Jessica Kingsley.