An Inquiry Into The Family Experience Of The Development Of Self-determination In Adolescents With Intellectual Disabilities

Self-determination can play a positive role in the development of people with disabilities,especially for teenagers with intellectual disabilities.Adolescents with intellectual disabilities need support from all aspects to develop their self-determination,especially from families.However,few studies have paid attention to parents’ experiences in providing support for their children with intellectual disabilities.This study attempts to understand the parents’ experiences in supporting the selfdetermination development of the mentally disabled adolescents,and analyze their experiences in supporting practice,so as to provide information reference for the future intervention and intervention to promote the self-determination ability of the mentally disabled adolescents in the family environment.The research adopted the method of interpretive phenomenology,recruited 9 subjects and conducted semi-structured interviews by means of snowballing.Three advanced topics were finally obtained through the analysis of interview materials:(1)Background factors in support,including parents’ /family’s understanding of children,parents’ /family’s parenting attitude,family members’ support/obstacles,and access to external support resources;(2)Rich supporting roles,including five sub-themes:observer,leader,guide,supervisor and final decision maker;(3)Support experience and support dilemma,including the matching of support needs and parents’ abilities,the balance of empowerment and protection,and the need for long-term continuous support.Based on the analysis and discussion of various research results,the research conclusions of this research are summarized as follows:First,parents’ support for the development of self-determination of adolescents with intellectual disabilities is influenced by complex background factors.Parents’ deep understanding of their children,positive parenting attitudes,harmonious family relationships and cooperative family members,as well as the use of external resources can help parents in implementing supportive practices.Second,parents/families play a rich supporting role in supporting the selfdetermination development of adolescents with intellectual disabilities.Observation is the basis of support.With the growth of children,the identity of parent-teacher association will gradually change from the leader to the leader,with the ultimate goal of returning supervision and decision-making power to children.Third,the support of parents is limited,and it is necessary to try to solve the problems encountered in the support process,such as the mismatch between capacity and needs,the contradiction between empowerment and protection,and how to meet the long-term continuous support needs.