Quality of life of people with Intellectual Disability (ID)

What do we mean with “quality of life”?

Quality of life has a multidimensional meaning, which measures the well-being of a person. Dr. Schalock, introduced a self-centered theory of quality of life. The theory describes eight (8) main dimensions of a person’s life, which should be characterized by quality.

Following we describe those dimensions, including their indicators, which their existence presents a quality life:

	Dimension	indicators
1	Emotional well-being	Fulfillment, lack of stress
2	Interpersonal Relations	Interaction, relationship, support
3	Material well-being	Financial status, employment, shelter
4	Personal Development	Education, personal competence, development
5	Physical well-being	Health, activities of daily living, leisure
6	Self- determination	Autonomy, personal goals/values, choices
7	Social inclusion	Acceptance and community activities, roles in the community, social support
8	Rights	Human and legal rights

Measuring the quality of life is really important as in this way we may understand better, in which fields/dimensions there could be some improvement.

Quality of life of people with ID

Quality of life should concern equally all of us. Measuring the quality of life of people with ID, help us understand their needs and in which way those needs could be fulfilled so to have a better quality of life.

Measuring the quality of life of people with ID is both subjective and objective, as in this process we should consider the following:

• the opinion of the person with ID,

• the opinion their caregiver,

• the opinion of their family,

• other information regarding their life.

Schalock’s Questionnaire

How can we measure the quality of life of a person with ID?

This can be done by dr. Schalock ’s questionnaire. This questionnaire consists of forty (40) grouped questions, in 4 thematic sections, which are the following:

1. Satisfaction.

2. Productivity.

3. Empowerment.

4. Social Integration.

The answers are given as a multiple choice of rating from 1 to 3, so that anyone who answers can choose which describes him/her the most.

In the first section the questions concern about the persons’ daily life and routine. The bigger the result/average, the better the feeling of satisfaction regarding their life is in general.

In the second section of the questionnaire the questions concern about their working life and their job. Regarding their productivity, how they are being treated, the working environment and how they see themselves through their job and their income. (We should note here that in Greece, there are only few cases of people with ID that are working, so this section remains unanswered).

In the third section of the questionnaire the questions are about self-efficacy and self-determination, the decision-making process, taking responsibility, time management and personal choices.

In the last section of the questionnaire, they should answer questions regarding their participation in social activities, the interaction with the neighborhood and the development of friendships and romantic relationships.

If there is someone with ID in your environment, you could learn all the needed in order to improve the ageing period, through the project Active Ageing- AIDA.

Project Active Ageing- AIDA

Active Ageing- AIDA, is an Erasmus+ KA2 project, which focuses on the elderly people with ID. Specifically with their social activity and the better quality of life they can get. The project started its journey in October 2020 and lasts until May 2023.

AIDA provides all the needed knowledge and tools in order to ensure that professional- experts dealing with elderly, organisations hosting elderly and their families (of people with ID), can convey all the necessary during the active ageing period.

For people with ID, having the best quality of life, is necessary to have the best given care and the treatment they get, should be adapted to their needs, emphasizing in their ageing period.

To whom is it addressed?

The project is addressed to:

• Teachers of the socio-sanitary area of VET centers.
• Professionals and care workers of people with intellectual disabilities.
• VET students who will receive better training in the field of care for the elderly with ID.
• VET institutions and other relevant stakeholders.
• Elderly with intellectual disabilities and their families.
• Local, regional, national authorities responsible for education.
• Universities.

Learn more about the project AIDA here!