Going to College: The Experiences of a Young Man With Mental Retardation

• Main Authors: Hu, Man-Li, 胡曼莉
• Other Authors: 杞昭安
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/17869750858845289587

碩士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 特殊教育學系 === 101 === This qualitative study was adopted to profoundly explore the transition and the mental experiences of a young man with mildly mental retardation from his decision to admission into college. And it’s an individual study interacting with the participant by means of the observation and interview, which lasted for a year. Through the gathering, analysis and explanation of all the information, the findings are as follows: First, the parents of the participant expected their child to have more opportunities by going to college in the hope that in the long run the participant could learn to be independent. Second, the participant didn’t have any ideas about going to college. It was the parents that made all the arrangements. When faced with difficulties in learning and personal relationship, the participant easily wanted to drop out of school. Third, the participant expressed his desire to go to college, but during the process of preparation he followed the family’s arrangements. Fourth, after admitted into college, the most difficult were academic work and personal relationship. As a result, the thought of dropping out of school arose from time to time. When having trouble studying, the participant became more passive. What’s worse, the fear of being labeled and the lack of help from the resource classroom made the participant unable to ask for help from the resource classroom. The participant wanted to have good personal relationship hopefully, but tended to wait for interaction from the others. It turned out that the expansion of the personal relationship was limited. The participant tried to talk with classmates and join in class activities so as to improve the personal relationship. However, the interaction with classmates still lacked the appropriate social skill Fifth, it showed that the participant was quite well-accustomed with the assistance of the roommates, and the self exploration and life adaptation in accordance with the observation of the participant’s life skills, including daily meal management, accommodation, transportation and leisurely recreation in college. Last but not least, according to the results of the study, the above issue is aimed to make some suggestions to the authorities concerned, school faculties, and the parents of the students with mental retardation. Further studies are still needed.