Use of community facilities by adolescents with severe mental handicaps

Abstract

This study examined the use of community facilities by three groups of adolescents with severe mental handicaps before and after they moved into staffed houses in the community. Results were positive, showing an increased use of everyday facilities and a decreased use of facilities for people with handicaps in all houses, irrespective of how long the young people had been in residence. The use of leisure facilities and public transport was also increased for those who had lived in the community the longest. The number and variety of “other” experiences, events organised or attended, increased for all the young people, attesting to their enriched life style once in the community.A follow‐up study, carried out when all the adolescents had been living in the community for at least two years, gave positive results. Facilities for people with handicaps were no longer used. The increased use of community facilities was maintained or improved.