Emancipation and Self-determination of People with Learning Disabilities and Down-sizing Institutional Care

Abstract

In Arduin, an organisation for services to people with learning disabilities in the Netherlands, the emancipation and self-determination of people with learning disabilities has been positively adopted as fundamental in order to secure the best possible quality of life of the clients. The client is being encouraged in several ways in a development from a position of dependence towards self-determination. The services provided by the organisation had to be adjusted accordingly and are also going through a transition from 'providing a total care service' towards 'offering the support that the client desires'. In this article the background and developments in perception are being outlined, and those dimensions in quality of life are elaborated that are seen as most essential in the innovation: inclusion, self-determination and personal development. The choices that were made as a consequence in Arduin and most fundamental the choice to dismantle the institution are described.