Intellectual disability is characterized by significantly lower than average intellectual ability and adaptive behaviour deficits, but also there’s such a difficulty on having community involvement and social relationships.
That’s not because they don’t want as Kampert, A. L., & Goreczny, A. J. (2007) show on their study, they express the desire for having community involvement, increasing their socialization, having work opportunities, increase personal belongings and personal activities. Although, the society makes it difficult for them.
On their study they found that adolescents with intellectual disability were less likely than the other adolescents to go shopping, dine out, visit friends and attend sport venues or doing sport and other sore of activities that involve other individuals or the community. They are more likely to play video games, watching television and activities that are primarily solitary.
Despite all these, it is really important for people with intellectual disability to form relationships for two primary reasons that Kampert, A. L., & Goreczny, A. J. (2007) expose:
- They need to participate in “normal” social situations so that they can learn socially appropriate ways of behaving.
- Secondly, allowing them interact with people without intellectual disability would decrease the social stigmas on that disability.
Also other researchers have shown the importance of social interaction in order to increase their levels of self-esteem, physical and psychological functioning and also to be happy and deal with life transitions, crises and day to day stress (Goldstein & Morgan, 2002; Hartup & Stevens, 1997; Fratiglioni, Wang, Ericsson, Maytan, &
Winblad, 2000; Uchino, Cacioppo, & Kiecolt-Glaser, 1996) com van citar Kampert, A. L., & Goreczny, A. J. (2007) en el seu estudi.
So, to promote their socialization it is really important the self-determination, allowing them making decisions and choices about their lives, unfortunately nowadays the majority of choices of their lives are made by other people, and that makes them feel powerless and internalize a negative self-image. The feel of belonging it is really important, especially to the young ones, for they is crucial to start the process of community involvement at an early age, Bramston et al., (2002) citat a Kampert, A. L., & Goreczny, A. J. (2007).
In conclusion, as a psycologists the first we have to do, is hear their opinions, desires, choices... and opening them ways to achieve their objectives and increase their self-esteem.
Kampert, A. L., & Goreczny, A. J. (2007). Community involvement and socialization among individuals with mental retardation. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 28, 278–286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2005.09.004
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