Autonomy and people with intellectual disabilities

• Main Authors: Stefánsdóttir, Guðrún V., Björnsdóttir, Kristín, Stefánsdóttir, Ástríður
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Icelandic
• Published: Icelandic Journal of Education 2015
• Subjects: Autonomy; private life; people with intellectual disabilities; Sjálfræði; einkalíf; fólk með þroskahömlun; Iceland
• Online Access: https://ojs.hi.is/uppmennt/article/view/1932

This article discusses how people with intellectual disabilities experience individual autonomy in their daily lives. It draws on a qualitative research in Iceland with 41 individuals aged 26–66 and data was gathered with interviews and participant observations.The research began in 2011 and is scheduled to end in 2015. The academicfields of disability studies and ethics seldom intersect, but this research project brings together these two fields of study, which on the one hand creates space for new ways of thinking about disability and on the other hand ethical issues, such as autonomy.The relational approaches fit well with the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which assumes that disability stems from interaction between people with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers. Furthermore, the convention recognizes the importance of individual autonomy and independence for disabled people, including the freedom to make their own choices. In an attempt to understand the complex forces that influence the actualization of their autonomy we examined their experiences in their homes and daily activities. We ask how the attitudes of employees and families, access to information and assistance in daily life contribute to or hinder their individual autonomy. Historically, people with intellectual disabilities were not trusted to make decisions and choices and this perspective was justified with the argument that due to their impairment they were not capable of developing their individual autonomy. However, the theoretical foundation of this research, i.e. the Nordic approach to disability and relational autonomy argues that all people exist in relation to other people and therefore it is important to examine how individual autonomy is developed through interactions with people and environment.From these ideas and the findings of our research we conclude that staffand family members are influential in the actualization of the research participants’ individual autonomy. ...