Care and support for older people with intellectual disabilities beyond the pursuit of ageing ‘in place’: towards constructing a space to be(long)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Whereas population ageing has been a much debated issue over the last decades, the political and scientific awareness of the longevity of adults with intellectual disabilities is considered relatively new. When the situations of older people with intellectual disabilities are coming into focus, attention has especially been drawn to medical aspects or to expected challenges of their ageing for health and social service providers. In that vein, a prominent yet rather wicked issue has been the question whether either disability care or elderly care services are the right place to meet their needs. This article discusses findings of a qualitative research study that aimed to reconstruct and investigate 10 care trajectories of ageing people with intellectual disabilities. Based on open interviews with the individuals themselves and with significant others from their formal and informal networks, we identified mechanisms in society that allow or deny older people with intellectual disabilities access to certain care settings or welfare provision. Moreover, we discovered concerns, interests and aspirations that are often left unseen. This shows the necessity to go beyond the debate of ‘ageing in (or out of) place’, and challenges us to create opportunities and strategies to create ‘a space to be(long)’.