| Summary: | 碩士 === 東吳大學 === 社會工作學系 === 91 === The purpose of this study is to explore the adults with intellectual disabilities who live in the institution and in the community, and to compare the differences of their life experiences between these two living units. This study utilized “Participant Observation” method, the adults who live in one specific institution locating in southern Taiwan and who live in community living as the observation objects and the units. The results of the study are as follows:
1. Living Space: The living space for the residents in the institution is limited in the facility. There will be only once or twice for them to be out to night markets or to have the class in the community, though the residents in community living can commonly have their activity in the community. The space planning and the facilities of the home appliance and furniture in community living will be much more various than those in institution. As it has been designed with an office area for the workers in the living unit, it is able to divide the acting space between the residents and the workers. Although it has got the variety with the home appliances and the leisure facilities, not each one of the residents is familiar with the operation of these facilities. By comparing to the personal using space of each resident, those in community living are more than institution. Meanwhile, the residents in community living are even able to decorate their own posters and toys. The life of the residents in institution always follows the scheduled regulation, that the residents have got more time spending in their “personal hobby/watching television”, and in stead, the life center of the residents in community living is their works.
2. Life Experiences: The residents in community living have got a small amount of allocable allowance. The living space of the residents in community living is not restricted within the community living; even they can have the community activities at the same time. But the community living has also got the offices for the workers as in the institution, and the residents in community living have possessed more stuff than those in institution. Since the residents in community living have got more opportunities in the study of operation, they have got the better skills in operating the electronics. Both the institution and the community living have got few residents, who will appropriate people’s stuff without permission. The workers will worry about that the residents in community living will escape without permission as it has got more open living space. The residents in community living have got more choices in their life and they are free to access the door at any time, but they will have to keep the workers informed if they planned to go to the shops or temples in neighborhood. The relationship between the workers and the residents are like teachers and students no matter in institution or in community living. There is no heterosexual relationship in the residents’ life, and the interactive relationship between the residents and their families are only restricted to the visits during festivals. But the residents in community living have got the association with neighbors and they have more chances to get contact with non-intellectual disabilities. The residents in community living are able to use more facilities in the community than those in institution, and the contents of the leisure activities for residents in community are more various than those in institution. Both the schedules of the institution and the community living are arranged by the workers. In the aspect of other issues, the employment is the main condition concerned for the residents in community living. The workers are in charge of arranging the religious activities in the residents’ life. No matter in institution or community living, the workers have to take the full responsibility towards the residents’ health and their safety. The contact between the workers and the residents help to discipline the residents. In restriction to the statutory regulation, the daily needed stuff for the residents in institution or community living, such as the clothes, drinks & foods and bedding etc., have to be centripetally purchased by the institutes. The working manpower of community living is higher than the one of institution, but the workers of community living have to take the responsibility of the beautification and greening work in the area.
3. Other issues: The institution is the place not only for having lessons, but also for the association with the residents. In stead, the community living is just the place where the residents live. But by viewing the interactive instance between the residents and the workers, we discover that the workers are playing a character as being the teachers, and the residents are students. Under the role-play of teacher and student, the resident unit is not the home of the residents; instead, it is only a place for living or having lessons. The worker is the teacher and the person who gives orders or instructions. The resident is the student and the person who follows the orders or instructions. The residents’ life has to be accompanied and taken care by the workers in order to prevent any accidents’ occurrences. The residence service is filled with the protective color in the institute. Both the institute and the workers think that the intellectual disabilities receiving the services have the necessary responsibilities in managing and protecting themselves.
Implications of this research:
1. The service of institute should emphasize on the policy of diminishment and community. The subvention of the educational benefit has to follow the intellectual disabilities, so the residents can choose the most suitable service mode for themselves. By viewing the contact density and quality between other residents and workers to assess the service quality of the institute, so we can understand the service effectiveness received by the residents.
2. Provide the bisexual association to the residents, so it can satisfy their demands in establishing the close relationship.
3. In the aspect of planning the service projects, the institute should put the residents’ personal activities and non-congregate activities into the main consideration.
4. Suggestions to the family: No matter which kind of resident unit that the residents are living, their feeling of missing family and feeling like going home will never change. Hence the family should choose the diminished and community service when they think of the residents’ resident services. This is not only to keep the service user from leaving their original family, but also to retain the support system of the family towards the residents.
5. To the community living: The facilities of the furniture and home appliance have to associate with the residents’ life. Endue the residents the freedom of accessing through the community living and the community, and the freedom of using their own salary income. Only when the community residence and life satisfy the residents’ needs of feeling, interactive caring and emotional support, the community living will not just be a living place for the residents.
6. To the institution: Don’t let the residents lose the chance of learning the operation of home appliance and furniture just in the consideration of safety. Meanwhile, it is important to cultivate the residents to participate in personal activities they are interested in, and to prevent the individual resident from spending too much time in the meaningless behaviors.
7. To the workers: The function of caring and emotional support towards the residents will make them be more satisfied with the life in the resident unit. The workers have to practice the concepts of the community residence and life philosophy in real life. The purpose of the provided service’s substance is to meet the residents’ individualized demands, and design a service combined with the community life.
8. In the aspects of future research: Performing a long-term tracking research on the residents, who are shifted from the institution to the community living to have an understanding in the affections of the resident unit towards the residents. As the work is the emphasis of the residents in the community residence and life, therefore it is suggested to have an investigation over the community residence and the residents’ employment status in their life. To investigate the workers’ working status -- emphasizing on investigating the workers’ point of view towards their work and how do they retain and practice their service ideas; meanwhile, to investigate the time, frequency and quality of the workers making contact with the residents to understand the quality of the service received by the residents. To investigate the organization’s services -- emphasizing on philosophy of the services, characters and ideas of the institute participating in the community residence and life. To investigate how the Taiwan’s institutes can provide the “Homey Life Mode”.
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