| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立花蓮教育大學 === 身心障礙與輔助科技研究所 === 98 === The Song of Dandelion
~ A Life Story of an Aging Woman with Intellectual Disability Living in the Community
Abstract
This research was an account of a persons’ life story. A qualitative method was used. The story was about a woman with intellectual disability, and the main purpose was to understand how a person with intellectual disability grew from childhood to adult and even experience of life of marching toward senescence phase. This study was investigating the transition of a woman with intellectual disability from a child to a wife, and to be a mother, within these changing roles, as well ass disclosing the life story of a person with intellectual disability.
This research was based on qualitative case study. The participant was a 48 year-old woman with intellectual disability, and her husband died for an illness years ago. She is living independently in the community. Her adopted daughter is married and lives in the neighbor town. This research has lasted nearly two-year period. The researcher collected text materials through semi-structural interviews, and a draft word transcription of the interviews. In addition, the researcher has observed the participant’s present employment and daily routines to understand how she has participated in community.
The song of life could be divided into seven movements. The first movement was an opening overtures, and then reviewing the document and method, the fourth movement was starting to describe the participant’s present, the past, and the future life.
The results are the following：
First, the life story of a person with intellectual disability could be described as the growth course of the dandelion. It took the pure white slim and graceful feather flying through and seeking the course that the seed falls constantly, hardships over life course though, one day it would burst forth virginally on a green land!
Second, role changes and adjusts rightly: the person with intellectual disability received the protections from the family during childhood, after growing up and stepping into marriage stage via the freedom to choose one's spouse. A female with intellectual disability was changing the role being someone’s wife, she would develop her own way to cope with, and learn how to interact with each other, also to bear child-bearing responsibility after adopting the child.
The third, constraint and responsibility: To speak of a woman with intellectual disability, the marriage could transfer the parental responsibility. When the marriage was over, then family and sibling would naturally take over this responsibility. This also was a harbor of refuge for an intellectual disability person while she was marching toward the old age. Her recognition about this was clear.
The fourth was employment testing. The participant had been employed at a factory, run grocery store with her husband, received helps from career coach. She went to shelter workshop to make stock produce. She thinks this is the best arrangement for her.
Finally, the participant was fully self-determined within the realities of community life!
With the help of several respectable people to pull strings together to make dreams come true, she worked in the daytime and had classes in a cram school at night time, participated in church various programs in the evening on holidays, enjoying being alone and took a bicycle ride having the time of her own life. She satisfied with the current state of lives. No need to worry about the future either.
Suggestions for the future research, regulations, policies and plan making were also discussed in this study.
Key word： Intellectual disability, community life, aging
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