A scoping review of fandom for people with a learning disability

Background

A ‘learning disability’ is a reduced intellectual ability that affects someone their whole life. A person with a learning disability may find it difficult to learn new things or complete everyday tasks. A learning disability is different from a ‘learning difficulty’ (e.g. dyslexia) or neurodivergence (e.g. ADHD, autism), although the conditions may co-occur. People with a learning disability are also a very diverse group, with varying needs, abilities, and preferences.

Despite many decades of policy and strategies to try to improve the lives of people with a learning disability in the UK, they continue to experience disadvantage, discrimination, marginalisation and exclusion. Of particular concern for this project is the fact that people with a learning disability in the UK generally have limited opportunities for good quality leisure activities. This means they are less able to gain the myriad short- and long-term benefits of leisure participation – positive emotions and wellbeing, constructive social identities, social and cultural connections, and learning and development.

Can fandom help people with a learning disability?

Fandom is a particular type of leisure activity that, whilst often being popularly perceived as trivial, is increasingly recognised to imbue multiple personal and social benefits on participants. Being a fan is about having sustained interest and emotional investment in an activity and a connection to others with a similar interest.

From the small amount of research that has been done we know that being a fan of things like football, music, and movies can be a positive experience for people with a learning disability. However, the topic, as a whole, is under researched, so we do not know enough about the experiences and outcomes of these activities for different people. No attempt has yet been made to review, consolidate or bring together the learning from the existing research to more strategically understand the state of the current evidence.

Plan and next steps

Our project will identify, for the first time, all the existing research about ‘fandom’ for people with a learning disability to show what we already know and, crucially, where there are gaps in the evidence. We expect the project to take around twelve weeks. At the end we will share the results with other academic colleagues, service providers, and adults with a learning disability and their families.

The plan is to use the results of the review as a springboard to doing more collaborative research about fandom and learning disability. Ultimately, this new knowledge should contribute to the design and delivery of more appropriate services and interventions to facilitate better leisure participation for people with a learning disability in the UK.

About the team and staying in touch

For more information about the project and our future programme of research and knowledge exchange, contact Kris Southby. 

Kris Southby is a Senior Research Fellow and Assistant Director in the Centre for Health Promotion Research in the School of Health.

Rebecca Jones is a Project Officer in the School of Health.

Connor Penfold is a Lecturer in Football Business and Media at the University Campus of Football Business.

Matthias Grunke is Professor of Conception and Evaluation of School-Based Support in the Special Educational Needs Area of Learning at the University of Cologne.