The Right to Science: Centering People With Intellectual Disability in the Process and Outcomes of Science.
People with ID have a right to shape the science that is about them.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Shogren (2023) wrote a position paper. It says people with intellectual disability have a right to take part in science.
The paper does not test a treatment. It argues science teams must include these adults as partners, not just subjects.
What they found
The author found no good reason to keep people with ID out of research.
Instead, teams should treat their help as a basic human right, like voting or seeing a doctor.
How this fits with other research
Tavassoli et al. (2012) said the same thing earlier. They used a human-rights lens to fix medical-study ethics. Shogren (2023) widens that call to all science fields.
Laugeson et al. (2014) counted only 6 of 300 medical trials that included people with ID. That hard number gives Shogren (2023) proof that the system still locks people out.
Kim et al. (2025) picks up the baton. Their social-ecological toolkit shows how to support researchers who have ID, turning the right into real jobs.
Why it matters
You run studies or teach staff. Ask: Where is the voice of people with ID here? Add plain-language consent, buddy supports, and paid roles. Start small: invite one self-advocate to your next grant meeting.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The right to science has been identified in multiple human rights treaties; however, there has not been a clear framework for how governments or research organizations can advance this right particularly ensuring equitable engagement of people with intellectual disability (ID) in the process of scientific research. Although the feasibility and impacts of engaging people with ID in the process of science have been repeatedly demonstrated there remain systemic barriers including ableism, racism, and other systems of oppression that sustain inequities. Researchers in the ID field must take steps to dismantle systemic barriers and advance participatory approaches that advance equity in the process and outcomes of science.
Intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2023 · doi:10.1352/1934-9556-61.2.172