Social service utilisation patterns among children with mild intellectual disability – differences between children integrated into mainstream classes and children in self-contained classes

Abstract

Background. Children with a mild intellectual disability (ID) and their families often require social services; however, because of the characteristics of the formal service system, these families may be at risk of not receiving necessary services. The aim of this study was to obtain knowledge regarding the types and number of services that families receive from social services because of the child's disability and because of social problems. Another aim was to acquire knowledge regarding the percentage of families receiving services and to evaluate the received services in relation to the child's gender, school setting and age. Method. Utilisation of social services among 84 children with a mild ID and their families in two municipalities in Sweden was examined using existing social services records. Results. Approximately one-third of the families received services because of the child's disability and one-fourth because of social problems. Children integrated into mainstream classes were significantly less likely to receive services from social services because of their disability than children in self-contained classes. The most commonly utilised services because of the child's disability were companion service, short period of supervision for schoolchildren and special transportation services. The services most utilised because of social problems were help from a personal contact, a contact family for the child's siblings and financial assistance for the child's parents. Conclusions. Social services must engage in outreach activities, especially in schools, so that families having a child with mild ID are recognised and receive necessary services.

Perceived needs among parents of children with a mild intellectual disability in Sweden

“…In addition, many of the activities for children with disabilities are performed with parents; children with an MID require more social activities with same aged peers and other children with disabilities without the need for parental facilitation (Shields et al 2013). The expressed parental need to support the participation children with an MID in appropriate recreational activities is reflected in the results of a study by Olsson et al (2015). They found that one of the most utilized services provided to these families was a companion service, including short periods of supervision for schoolchildren over the age of 12 years outside their home and short stays away from home.…”

“…Douma, Dekker, and Koot (2006) suggest that a central information source is preferable and that assigning a case manager could achieve this goal. A recent Swedish study (Olsson et al 2015) reported that only 37% of all families of children with an MID in two Swedish municipalities received support from social services because of the child's impairment in one calendar year. This underscores the importance of obtaining information, not only about available services but also about how to utilize them.…”

“…Children with an MID may attend a self-contained class or be integrated into a mainstream class. A study of how parents of Swedish children with an MID utilize social services revealed that families with children enrolled in self-contained classes were 13 times more likely to utilize disability-related social services (Olsson et al 2015). This indicates that the way in which services are organized and linked affects service utilization.…”

“…Children with an intellectual disability (ID) have significant deficiencies in intellectual and adaptive functioning (American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities 2013) and exhibit an increased incidence of several other disorders or impairments compared with children without an ID (Allerton, Welch, and Emerson 2011). In addition, families with a child having an MID are more frequently of a lower socioeconomic status (Strømme and Magnus 2000;Emerson, Einfeld, and Stancliffe 2010;Olsson et al 2015). In addition, some of these parents may have an ID themselves (David et al 2013).…”

“…The families of children with a mild intellectual disability (MID) utilize social services relatively infrequently (Olsson et al 2015). Children with an intellectual disability (ID) have significant deficiencies in intellectual and adaptive functioning (American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities 2013) and exhibit an increased incidence of several other disorders or impairments compared with children without an ID (Allerton, Welch, and Emerson 2011).…”