Commentary on Iacono (2006): “Ethical challenges and complexities of including people with intellectual disability as participants in research”

Iacono (2006) examines in detail consent issues and what she considers a growing tendency for Research Ethics Committees (RECs) and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) to make increasingly 'conservative' decisions about research involving persons with intellectual disability. She attributes this trend to reactive dynamics (MacDonagh, 1958; cited in Pettit, 1992). She also implies that this trend can adversely affect research and is not in the best interests of people with disability. Iacono concludes that a reduction in such conservative decisions could result if researchers assumed an educational role, and made more extensive information available to committees concerning the impact of their decisions.