Abstract:

According to the current trend, more and more adults with intellectual disabilities live without parents. The ideas of integration and acceptance of people with intellectual disabilities by their fully able-bodied acquaintances as well as the whole local community in Poland and worldwide have become common. The voice of people with disabilities is becoming more and more important, and hence the popularization of the idea of self-advocacy raises.

The subject of the research, presented in this article, is to recognize and analyze the opinions of adults with intellectual disabilities about assisted housing. The research was conducted in Poland at the turn of 2018 and 2019. People with disabilities who attend assisted housing in Poland in selected locations took part in the study. The main technique of collecting data were individual biographical and narrative interviews (Jacob, 2003). Each interviewee signed a written consent to participate in the study. The interviews lasted from 120 to 240 minutes and were recorded on a voice-recorder. I used a narrative interview which is similar to in-depth, free conversations. Analysis of the transcribed interviews was guided by GT principles, which include limiting the researcher's pre-conceptualisation and focusing on theoretical sampling.

The conducted research allowed to find answers to detailed research problems revealing the opinions of adults with intellectual disabilities about assisted housing. Residents have a positive opinion about the opportunity to become independent. They appreciate the opportunity to acquire and develop self-service skills and to improve their everyday life activities. They also mention forms of support and rehabilitation, as well as possibilities to develop and improve their leisure time management skills. The aim of the research was to disseminate the idea of self-advocacy of people with intellectual disabilities and autism, to give them voice in interviews and to listen to their opinions on a given topic. Getting to know the opinions of adults with intellectual disabilities about assisted housing may contribute to the development of more such places in the future.

Keywords:

Assisted housing, disability, adults.