Social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities: the impact of place of residence

Abstract

Objectives: People with intellectual disabilities are increasingly living in more domestic style accommodation, either in housing provided within a specialised campus setting or in ordinary houses in community settings. The main objective of the study was to determine if the extent of residents' involvement with their families and with the local community varied when they resided in campus settings (n = 55) or community housing (n = 51) and to investigate the main predictors of this involvement.Method: With the resident's permission, their key-workers – mainly nurses – completed standard questionnaires that covered resident characteristics, contact with families and a range of life experiences.Results: Although the type of accommodation did have a significant effect on residents' social inclusion in families and communities, the best predictor of this was the individual's level of dependency in personal self-care. Those who were more dependent tended to be more excluded.Conclusions: Staff working with more dependent residents need to proactively promote their social inclusion although this could be harder to achieve for those living in campus style settings.

Staff perceptions of the quality of life of individuals with an intellectual disability who transition from a residential campus to community living in Ireland: An exploratory study

“…This echoes findings by Myers et al (1998), and potential reasons for this in the present context include the distance of the houses from the local amenities, which was also a barrier highlighted in a study by Abbott and McConkey (2006), and the continuing provision of day programs from the residential campus. Others also suggest that the individuals' history of being institutionalised (McConkey & Collins, 2010a), their social competence (McConkey et al, 2007), level of dependency (McConkey, Walsh-Gallagher, & Sinclair, 2005), a lack of amenities, staffing, and transport, and certain attitudes and behaviours within the community can affect this (e.g., being singled out or ignored; Abbott & McConkey, 2006). However, it is unclear whether or not more social integration is something these individuals actually want to achieve.…”

Autonomy in relation to health among people with intellectual disability: a literature review

“…One article reported that staff training is needed to improve service delivery in relation to menstrual management (Carlson & Wilson 1996). Another study concluded that support workers need to actively stimulate the inclusion of people with ID who have epilepsy or use large amounts of medication (McConkey et al. 2005).…”

“…as regards menstrual management) (Saunders & Spradlin 1991; Carlson & Wilson 1996; Kebbon 1997; Lennox et al. 2004; McConkey et al. 2005; Wong & Wong 2008).…”

Community Involvement of Young Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: Their Experiences and Perspectives on Inclusion

“…McConkey et al . () also discovered that participants who were more dependent had a lack of involvement in the community.…”