“We feel left out”: Experiences of social inclusion from the perspective of young adults with intellectual disability

Background Few studies discuss social inclusion from the voice and perspective of young adults with intellectual disability who have been lifelong recipients of individualised community-based coordination and services focusing on inclusion and participation. It is important to understand the perspec...

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Main Authors: Merrells, J., Buchanan, Angus, Waters, Rebecca
Format: Journal Article
Published: Informa Healthcare 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/59404
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author Merrells, J.
Buchanan, Angus
Waters, Rebecca
author_facet Merrells, J.
Buchanan, Angus
Waters, Rebecca
author_sort Merrells, J.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Background Few studies discuss social inclusion from the voice and perspective of young adults with intellectual disability who have been lifelong recipients of individualised community-based coordination and services focusing on inclusion and participation. It is important to understand the perspective of people with an intellectual disability how they experience and perceive social inclusion within their own lives. Method Ten participants aged 18 to 24 years diagnosed with intellectual disability living in the community alone, or with their family, participated. All received long-term individualised community-based coordination and services. They were interviewed about how they spend their time, form relationships, and feel included. A phenomenological approach was used with a thematic analysis to form codes from transcripts into two major themes. Results Young adults within this study experienced feelings of segregation and exclusion from community. Participants experienced trouble finding employment and were frequently bored. Social interactions were mainly with family and others with a disability in formal programs. Conclusions Despite being long-term recipients of individualised community-based coordination the young adults discussed significant experiences of segregation and exclusion impacting negatively on their lives.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-594042018-04-04T01:18:41Z “We feel left out”: Experiences of social inclusion from the perspective of young adults with intellectual disability Merrells, J. Buchanan, Angus Waters, Rebecca Background Few studies discuss social inclusion from the voice and perspective of young adults with intellectual disability who have been lifelong recipients of individualised community-based coordination and services focusing on inclusion and participation. It is important to understand the perspective of people with an intellectual disability how they experience and perceive social inclusion within their own lives. Method Ten participants aged 18 to 24 years diagnosed with intellectual disability living in the community alone, or with their family, participated. All received long-term individualised community-based coordination and services. They were interviewed about how they spend their time, form relationships, and feel included. A phenomenological approach was used with a thematic analysis to form codes from transcripts into two major themes. Results Young adults within this study experienced feelings of segregation and exclusion from community. Participants experienced trouble finding employment and were frequently bored. Social interactions were mainly with family and others with a disability in formal programs. Conclusions Despite being long-term recipients of individualised community-based coordination the young adults discussed significant experiences of segregation and exclusion impacting negatively on their lives. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/59404 10.3109/13668250.2017.1310822 Informa Healthcare restricted
spellingShingle Merrells, J.
Buchanan, Angus
Waters, Rebecca
“We feel left out”: Experiences of social inclusion from the perspective of young adults with intellectual disability
title “We feel left out”: Experiences of social inclusion from the perspective of young adults with intellectual disability
title_full “We feel left out”: Experiences of social inclusion from the perspective of young adults with intellectual disability
title_fullStr “We feel left out”: Experiences of social inclusion from the perspective of young adults with intellectual disability
title_full_unstemmed “We feel left out”: Experiences of social inclusion from the perspective of young adults with intellectual disability
title_short “We feel left out”: Experiences of social inclusion from the perspective of young adults with intellectual disability
title_sort “we feel left out”: experiences of social inclusion from the perspective of young adults with intellectual disability
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/59404