Dyadic interviewing: a technique valuing interdependence in interviews with individuals with intellectual disabilities

Dyadic interviewing is a qualitative approach that recognizes there exists an interdependent relationship between individuals, embracing this phenomenon as a source of information rather than attempting to control for it. Informed by a Critical Disability Studies ideology, this dyadic interview technique has been adapted to address some of the difficulties that present when conducting interviews with individuals with intellectual disabilities. The interview structure consists of a dyad that includes the individual with intellectual disability and the person they identify as their key support person. Currently, researchers have embraced dyadic interviewing as a method of triangulation. However, it also has potential to be used as an important method of accommodation for people with intellectual disability that promotes choice and self-determination in research participation.