Biomusic, emerging technology that translates physiological signals into sound/musical output may offer utility as an assistive technology for people with autism. The authors explore a variety of perspectives in humanities and social sciences to reflect on the ethical issues at stake with the use of biomusic in rehabilitation....
Jenni Aittokallio, PT, MH and Anna Ilona Rajala, PT, MA explore in-depth the concept of person-centeredness in healthcare and rehabilitation. As a part of their research, they interviewed recipients of neurological rehabilitation, to determine what in their treatment had been truly meaningful for them. The authors suggest that person-centeredness is best viewed as encompassing a complex constellation of factors and issues surrounding each unique patient....
In this Perspective, Donya Mosleh, PhD argues for a new mode of scholarly practice that recognizes and addresses tensions between two fields that seemingly occupy opposite ends of a continuum. In order to promote a more productive engagement, critical disability studies with rehabilitation sciences unsettles knowledge relations that position these two fields as oppositional and incompatible....
The main focus of rehabilitation is to provide help to those who need it. But does the Western definition of “help” always apply in other regions? In “Finding Help: Exploring the Accounts of Persons With Disabilities in Western Zambia…,” Shaun R. Cleaver and colleagues present the concept of help in a completely new light, and offer suggestions for a more societally-based approach to healing....
The authors of this study conducted in-depth interviews with racialized students or recent graduates of Master’s-level physical therapy programs in Canada. The students described their experiences of white culture, and how well-meaning fellow students simply weren’t aware of the institutionalized racism around them. In compelling quotes, the students detail their feelings of frustration and resignation based on repeated exposure to race-related stereotypes....
Engaging in epistemic reflexivity, or the ability to question the ways in which we practice, and their association with organizational and social structures, is the key to gaining a clear perspective on the profession, according to these authors. How can students take a step back, and gain true insight into their professional world? This study employed a 7-step framework to introduce learners to the process of “making strange.”...
In a compelling response to our article, "Exploring How Racism Structures Canadian Physical Therapy Programs," Dr. Bryan Mukandi offers an account of his critique of early drafts of the article, requested by the authors. He notes that his fear at the time was that the article “was an inadvertent reiteration of the idea that the inclusion of people of color in health disciplines is a matter of charity rather than justice.” Dr. Mukandi expresses the hope that more colleagues like these can gather with those “on the wrong side of the road” to foster dialogue and spur change....
Barbara E. Gibson, PhD, Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, discusses her book: Rehabilitation: A Post-Critical Approach, a text for rehabilitation science students to engage with critical social theories, providing a framework to think through the application of these ideas to research and practice. ...
Jenny Setchell, PhD, BScPT and Barbara Gibson, PhD are co- editors of a new section in JHR dedicated to publishing research and scholarship that employ critical perspectives on rehabilitation. They seek submissions applying critical, post structural, or postmodern theories including original research, think pieces, and theoretical discussions of the philosophical basis of rehabilitation practices, education and/or research....
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