Why do we label?

         New policies are promoting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live in the community (de-institutionalization), make their own informed choices, and improve their overall quality of life (McKenzie, Ouellette, & Martin, 2016). With these changes individuals with disabilities now have the opportunity to have the same opportunities as everyone else in the community.

            When individuals started to return to the community from institutions, the idea of community changed. What is the idea of community? What it means to the average population means something different to individuals with disabilities. For individuals with disabilities community is now something they enter into for a limited amount of time after various assessments (Jarrett, 2015). The concept of community for individuals with disabilities is not accurate and tends to be somewhat artificial (Jarrett, 2015). Why can’t the concept of community be the same for individuals with disabilities as it is for the average population in the community?

            When individuals receive services, their sense of community is also more inclusive (Jarrett, 2015). They tend to have categorized lives, live with similar individuals with similar disabilities, and are mostly always accompanied by staff supports (Jarrett, 2015). While there is community integration and phasing out of institutionalized environments, there continues to be a segregation to an extent with this population of individuals.

                                                            References

Jarrett, S. (2015). The meaning of ‘community’ in the lives of people with intellectual

            disabilities: An historical perspective. International Journal of Developmental

 Disabilities, 61(2), 107-112. doi:10.1179/2047386914Z.00000000094

McKenzie, K., Ouellette-Kuntz, H., & Martin, L. (2016). Frailty as a predictor of

 institutionalization among adults with intellectual and developmental

 disabilities. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 54(2), 123-135.

 doi:10.1352/1934-9556-54.2.123