Madeline Burghardt, BSc (OT-provisional), MSc, PhD

Research summary

My research focuses on people’s lived experiences of disability and difference and the systemic and historic oppression of disabled people over time.

My principal area of research is with people labelled/with an intellectual disability and with members of their families. My doctoral research was a qualitative study of the experiences of survivors of total institutions, their siblings and parents—work that contributed to the breaking open of stories of institutional survivorship in Canada. 

Further work with people labelled/with intellectual disabilities has focused on collaborative and participatory research, including arts-based projects and the co-development of teaching workshops on the history of institutionalization. I have also done narrative research with Canadian thalidomide survivors, particularly regarding their experiences of growing up in an ableist and prejudicial Canada. 

My principal research methods are qualitive and narrative, with alternate modalities for those who use methods other than speech, incorporating participant-led, collaborative strategies.

Research groups

• Co-investigator, researcher, Participatory Advocacy Research Network
• Co-founder, Mobilizing Critical Disability Studies for Change

Research affiliations

• Researcher, St. Amant

Keywords

• Disability
• Families
• History
• Institutionalization
• Lived experience
• Thalidomide

My clinical career in occupational therapy included work with disabled children and their families in underserved areas in northern Ontario and in Zimbabwe, Africa. In addition to hands-on therapy, these roles included program development, working alongside local rehabilitation technicians, and supporting and educating caregivers.

My interest in learning about the experiences of people with disabilities and those of their families led to my area of focus in my masters and doctoral programs. Since acquiring my PhD, I have taught at graduate and undergraduate levels in critical disability studies and in health studies at York University and Western University. 

I became an assistant professor in the department of occupational therapy in the College of Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Manitoba in July 2023 and hold a research position with the St. Amant Research Centre in Winnipeg.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy in Critical Disability Studies, York University (2014)

Master of Science in Rural Extension Studies, University of Guelph (2003)

Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto (1987)

Awards

2024: 

College of Rehabilitation Sciences Endowment Fund. Title: “Dismantling ableism in OT curricula: Recommendations from disability studies.” Awarded March 2024. $3,840.00.

Co-Investigator with Principal Investigator L. Mullins, Brock University and co-investigators A. Buettgen, P. Burnham Riosa, A. Fudge-Schormans, and A. Przednowek. Connections Grant. Title: “Participatory Advocacy Research Network: Building authentic partnerships and collaborations to further the research and advocacy goals of the developmental disability community.” Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Awarded January 2024. $79,702.00.

2023: 

Funding from Manitoba provincial government from settlement of Class Action lawsuit Weremy vs. Government of Manitoba for purpose of removing artefacts from the Manitoba Development Centre and establishing a public exhibition. $10,000.00.

Previous grants available on request.