Use Experiences of Welfare Service among Adults with Intellectual Disabilities and Their Families ─Life Course Perspectives

• Main Authors: Yu-Liu Chen, 陳雨柳
• Other Authors: Yueh-Ching Chou
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2012
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/26317635275752278706

碩士 === 國立陽明大學 === 衛生福利研究所 === 100 === In Taiwan, formal welfare system involved in people with disabilities has just launched in the 1980s. However, the relationships between the historical development of welfare system and life experiences among people with disabilities and their families during their life course have not been studied in the society. An in-depth interview was adopted to explore the experiences of welfare services use among twelve adults with intellectual disabilities and their family cross different groups of age between 1960s to the 1990s; and further this study aims to understand the relations between the development of the welfare system, social relations, and environmental interaction correlation with people with disabilities and their families. The findings showed that the rights of people with intellectual disability in Taiwan have been yearly promoted. However, most of them still were not able to access to the service information as to use the services. In addition, people who were excluded by the social system in their early years thus became unable to access and use the services. They would rather give up the opportunities of using the welfare services and choose to be cared by their own and live in the home. Life events in the past affect the decision making of people with intellectual disabilities in using welfare services. Besides, the experiences of using welfare services also affect their following life. This study suggests that related organizations and workers working with this group of people should pay their concerns to meet the needs of adults with intellectual disabilities and their family in their every life stage. Individualized and person-centered services would be a useful approach. In addition, government should supervise the quality of service.