International Journal of Education & the Arts

Citation: Hendrikx, A., Woelders, S., & Abma, T. (2024). Playing voices: Building knowledge about caring relationships in an open space. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 25(si1.11). http://doi.org/10.26209/ijea25si1.11

Patient involvement is grounded in the notion of the human being as an autonomous and speaking subject. However, this raises challenges when persons with speech limitations are invited to participate. Besides that, not every experience or meaning can be expressed in words easily. In this article, we learn about the potential of a new inclusive way of creating knowledge through Lego DUPLO blocks used in a study on caring relationships with clients with acquired brain injury (ABI) and their (in)formal caregivers. DUPLO offered a space for all involved to express their voice. People with ABI as well as (in)formal caregivers were challenged to move beyond verbal, cognitive, and normative expressions. Also, the unsayable aspects of care became visible and started reflections and encouraged to imagine caring relationships among the participants. This approach is also relevant for (art) education, as it challenges traditional methods and disrupts epistemic injustice in research.