Alternative practice: Alternative perspectives

Abstract

AbstractThe common professional/academic consensus around inclusion stems from a particular employment group dependent largely upon the patronage of the state. An autoethnographic account of an alternative career path reports the development of one alternative practice with less direct allegiance to existing state structures and, consequently, an alternative perspective on issues of inclusion and other currently hegemonic notions not generally regarded as problematic. Over the last 15 years, Conductive Education has become an international movement, driven by goals and values that are not those of the common consensus. There is contradiction between its aspirations for official acceptance and the vulnerability of its alternative essence and values to official absorption. Informed families’ dissatisfaction with existing services for children growing up with disabilities, including simplistic inclusion, and their choice of alternative practices, are emerging as a serious research topic. This testimonio aims to create space for unheard voices to be heard.