Abstract: Background: In recent years we are witnessing a welcome trend in which more children/persons with disabilities are living at home with their families and within their communities. This trend is related to various policy innovations as the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities that reflect a shift from the medical-institutional model to a human rights approach. We also witness the emergence of family centered approaches that perceive the family and not just the individual with the disability as a worthy target of policy planning, implementation and evaluation efforts. The current investigation aims to explore economic, psychological and social factors among households of families of children or adults with intellectual disabilities in Israel and to present policy recommendation. Methods: A national sample of 301 households was recruited through the education and employment settings of persons with intellectual disability. The main caregiver of the person with the disability (a parent) was interviewed. Measurements included the income and expense surveys; assets and debts questionnaire; the questionnaire on resources and stress; the social involvement questionnaire and Personal Wellbeing Index. Results: Findings indicate significant gaps in financial circumstances between households of families of children with intellectual disabilities and households of the general Israeli society. Households of families of children with intellectual disabilities report lower income and higher expenditures and loans than the general society. They experience difficulties in saving and coping with unexpected expenses. Caregivers (the parents) experience high stress, low social participation, low financial support from family, friend and non-governmental organizations and decreased well-being. They are highly dependent on social security allowances which constituted 40% of the household's income. Conclusions: Households' dependency on social security allowances may seem contradictory to the encouragement of persons with intellectual disabilities to favor independent living in light of the human rights approach to disability. New policy should aim at reducing caregivers' stress and enhance their social participation and support, with special emphasis on families of lower socio-economic status. Finally, there is a need to continue monitoring the economic and psycho-social needs of households of families of children with intellectual disabilities and other developmental disabilities.
Abstract: Wishes and choices being respected, and the right to be supported rather than coerced, have been internationally recognized as the human rights of persons with mental illness. In Taiwan, ‘coerced hospitalization’ has become difficult since the revision of the mental health legislation in 2007. Despite trend towards human rights, the real problem families face when their family members are in mental health crisis is the lack of alternative services. This study aims to explore: 1) When is hospitalization seen as the only solution by family members? 2) What are the barriers for arranging hospitalization, and how are they managed? 3) What have family carers learned, in their experiences of caring for their family members with mental illness? To answer these questions, qualitative approach was adopted, and focus group interviews were taken to collect data. This study includes 24 family carers. The main findings of this research include: First, hospital is the last resort for carers in helplessness. Family carers tend to do everything they could to provide care at home for their family members with mental illness. Carers seek hospitalization only when a patient’s behavior is too violent, weird, and/or abnormal, and beyond their ability to manage. Hospitalization, nevertheless, is never an easy choice. Obstacles emanate from the attitudes of the medical doctors, the restricted areas of ambulance service, and insufficient information from the carers’ part. On the other hand, with some professionals’ proactive assistance, access to medical care while in crisis becomes possible. Some family carers obtained help from the medical doctor, nurse, therapist and social workers. Some experienced good help from policemen, taxi drivers, and security guards at the hospital. The difficulty in accessing medical care prompts carers to work harder on assisting their family members with mental illness to stay in stable states. Carers found different ways of helping the ‘person’ to get along with the ‘illness’ and have better quality of life. Taking back ‘the right to control’ in utilizing medication, from passiveness to negotiating with medical doctors and seeking alternative therapies, are seen in many carers’ efforts. Besides, trying to maintain regular activities in daily life and play normal family roles are also experienced as important. Furthermore, talking with the patient as a person is also important. The authors conclude that in order to protect the human rights of persons with mental illness, it is crucial to make the medical care system more flexible and to make the services more humane: sufficient information should be provided and communicated, and efforts should be made to maintain the person’s social roles and to support the family.
Abstract: The purpose of the study was to find out the efficacy
of selected mobility exercises and participation in special games on psychomotor abilities, functional abilities and skill performance
among intellectually disabled children of age group under 14. Thirty male students who were studying in Balar Kalvi Nilayam and YMCA
College Special School, Chennai, acted as subjects for the study.
They were only mild and moderate in intellectual disability. These
students did not undergo any special training or coaching programme apart from their regular routine physical activity classes as a part of
the curriculum in the school. They were attached at random, based on
age in which 30 belonged to under 14 age group, which was divided
into three equal group of ten for each experimental treatment. 10
students (Treatment group I) underwent calisthenics and special
games participation, 10 students (Treatment group II) underwent
aquatics and special games participation, 10 students (Treatment
group III) underwent yoga and special games participation. The subjects were tested on selected criterion variables prior (pre test)
and after twelve weeks of training (post test). The pre and post test
data collected from three groups on functional abilities(self care,
learning, capacity for independent living), psychomotor
variables(static balance, eye hand coordination, simple reaction time
test) and skill performance (bocce skill, badminton skill, table tennis
skill) were statistically examined for significant difference, by
applying the analysis ANACOVA. Whenever an 'F' ratio for
adjusted test was found to be significant for adjusted post test means,
Scheffe-s test was followed as a post-hoc test to determine which of
the paired mean differences was significant. The result of the study
showed that among under 14 age groups there was a significant improvement on selected criterion variables such as, Balance,
Coordination, self-care and learning and also in Bocce, Badminton & Table Tennis skill performance, due to mobility exercises and
participation in special games. However there were no significant
differences among the groups.