Aldersey Heather M
University of Kansas Beach Center on Disability, University of Kansas, Lawrence, USA.
Afr J Disabil. 2012 Oct 4;1(1):32. doi: 10.4102/ajod.v1i1.32. eCollection 2012.
When attempting to understand the construct of intellectual disability in different contexts, speaking to family members in addition to the individual with the disability may provide new insight about understandings of and responses to intellectual disability in society and may help to identify the forms of support that are available or needed to ensure the quality of life of people with disabilities. This article outlines and discusses interviews that were conducted in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, with family members of children and adults with intellectual disabilities. These interviews explore how families came to understand that their child had an intellectual disability; the availability of family support; and family hopes and dreams for the future, and were a part of a wider exploratory study that gathered insight from individuals with disabilities, families, and other providers of support to explore understandings and perceptions of disability in Dar es Salaam. Understanding family experiences will help researchers, policy makers, non-governmental organisations, and others to identify family strengths and family support needs which can ultimately improve family quality of life and the quality of life of the member with a disability.
在试图理解不同背景下的智力残疾概念时，除了与残疾个体交流外，与家庭成员交谈可能会为社会对智力残疾的理解和应对方式提供新的见解，并有助于确定确保残疾人生活质量所需的现有或所需的支持形式。本文概述并讨论了在坦桑尼亚达累斯萨拉姆对智力残疾儿童和成人的家庭成员进行的访谈。这些访谈探讨了家庭是如何开始认识到他们的孩子患有智力残疾的；家庭支持的可获得性；以及家庭对未来的希望和梦想，并且是一项更广泛的探索性研究的一部分，该研究从残疾人、家庭和其他支持提供者那里收集见解，以探讨达累斯萨拉姆对残疾的理解和看法。了解家庭经历将有助于研究人员、政策制定者、非政府组织及其他各方确定家庭优势和家庭支持需求，最终改善家庭生活质量和残疾成员的生活质量。
