Three modes of inclusion of people with intellectual disability in mainstream services: mainstreaming, differentiation and individualisation

Abstract

This paper examines the adjustments made to include people with intellectual disabilities in mainstream services. Drawing on in-depth interviews with both people with intellectual disabilities and mainstream service managers in four urban regions in Australia, the paper points to three modes of practice that are operationalised, to different degrees, when people with intellectual disabilities seek access to mainstream services: a commitment and adjustments to support inclusion of a wide range of marginalised people (diversity and inclusion ethos); adjustments to support inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities more specifically (differentiated adjustments); and, personal support for service users with intellectual disabilities. We argue that these three modes, at the service level, correspond in complex ways with three broader approaches to social inclusion: mainstreaming, differentiation and individualisation. Rather than contradictory modes of inclusion, our analysis suggests these approaches should be understood as complementary. Points of interest Some mainstream services that value ‘inclusion’ make adjustments to their service in order to better include people from different marginalised groups. Such adjustments have mixed outcomes for people with intellectual disability, whose specific needs are not always met. Some mainstream services operate separate activities for users with intellectual disability. This helps them manage behavioural and communication challenges, and can help people with intellectual disability experience a sense of belonging. But separate activities also limit opportunities for full inclusion in the mainstream. Often people with intellectual disability require their own personal support to be able to use mainstream services. Some mainstream services rely on such personal support as their main strategy to include people with intellectual disability. Other mainstream services work collaboratively with personal supporters to promote inclusion.