Concerns regarding the use of the vulnerability concept in research on people with intellectually disability

People with intellectual disability are often defined as a vulnerable group. The feminist philosopher Jackie Scully argues that vulnerability is often associated with qualities such as immaturity, helplessness, victimhood, passivity and so forth. As research is a social activity, the qualities associated with vulnerability affect researchers’ decisions about who to include and exclude from their research project as well as influencing their interpretations of the research participants’ answers, behaviour and actions.