Awareness and views of the adults to the establishment of community living settings for people with intellectual disabilities in the local environment of Upper Carniola Region

Osebe z motnjami v duševnem razvoju so ena izmed skupin oseb s posebnimi potrebami. Normalizacija in deinstitucionalizacija v zadnjih letih oblikujeta trende razvoja socialnega varstva, zaradi česar se poudarja pomen premeščanja oseb z motnjami v duševnem razvoju iz institucij v manjše bivalne kapacitete, tj. bivalne enote, umeščene znotraj manjših krajev ali mest. Bivalne enote so lahko najučinkovitejša možnost bivanja za nekatere osebe z motnjami v duševnem razvoju. Uporabnikom je kljub večji samostojnosti, enako kot v institucijah, nudena ustrezna strokovna pomoč, ko jo potrebujejo. Osebe z motnjami v duševnem razvoju z umestitvijo bivalnih enot v lokalno okolje lahko postanejo vidnejše in prepoznane. Za uresničevanje kakovostnega bivanja in življenja je namreč nujno, da se uporabniki bivalnih enot vključijo v lokalno skupnost, ki naj jih sprejme kot enakopravne člane. Podlaga za sprejemanje so zagotovo primerna ozaveščenost, empatičnost in čuteč odnos do oseb z motnjami v duševnem razvoju, ki je v medijih še vedno izpostavljena kot problem. V empirični raziskavi, ki smo jo izvedli na vzorcu 112 anketirancev, smo obravnavali ozaveščenost in stališča odraslih oseb na Gorenjskem o osebah z motnjami v duševnem razvoju in bivalnih enotah. Ugotovili smo, da so anketiranci do določene mere informirani o osebah z motnjami v duševnem razvoju, saj določene značilnosti teh oseb zamenjujejo z značilnostmi duševnih motenj. Stališče, ki so ga anketiranci izrazili do morebitne umestitve bivalne enote v njihovo bližnjo okolico, je večinoma pozitivno. Mnogo anketirancev si želi biti ozaveščenih, ustrezne informacije pa bi najraje pridobili z ogledom kratkega videoprikaza ali iz brošure. Poleg tega smo ugotovili, da stopnja ozaveščenosti in raznoliki prehodni stiki anketirancev z osebami z motnjami v duševnem razvoju statistično pomembno ne vplivajo na stališče do odprtja bivalne enote v njihovi bližnji okolici. Statistično pomembne razlike v stališču do umestitve bivalne enote v bližnjo okolico anketirancev so se pokazale pri spolu – stališče žensk je bolj pozitivno naravnano. Statistično pomembnega vpliva stopnje izobrazbe na stališče do bivanja oseb z motnjami v duševnem razvoju v lokalnem okolju nismo zaznali. Rezultati empirične raziskave so osnova za pripravo brošure, v kateri so navedene osnovne značilnosti oseb z motnjami v duševnem razvoju in poudarjena pogosta napačna prepričanja in stereotipi. Z namenom razširitve vedenja o osebah z motnjami v duševnem razvoju smo zasnovali stran v družabnem omrežju z naslovom Bodi v stiku, ki je namenjena informiranju širše javnosti o osebah z motnjami v duševnem razvoju. Pri snovanju strani v družabnem omrežju bodo v nadaljevanju vključeni tudi študenti študijske smeri Specialna in rehabilitacijska pedagogika na Pedagoški fakulteti Univerze v Ljubljani ter različne institucije, ki nudijo pomoč osebam z motnjami v duševnem razvoju.People with intellectual disabilities form an important subgroup of people with special needs. In the last years, the development of social welfare services is strongly governed by the concepts of normalization and deinstitutionalization. Therefore, a strong focus is given to the promotion of relocating the people with intellectual disabilities from the institutions to small living communities located within small settlements or towns. Living communities can represent the most appropriate accommodation alternative for some people with intellectual disabilities. Although their independence is higher than in institutions, the living communities still provide all the services required. Establishing community living arrangements in the local environment, the people with intellectual disabilities become visible and recognisable. To realize enhanced quality of living, the inclusion of users to the local community should be assured. However, the local community needs to embrace their new neighbours. While still remaining a problem, the successful inclusion stem from the appropriate awareness, empathy, and sensual relationship to the people with intellectual disabilities. Empirical study was conducted using a sample of 112 adult respondents from the upper Carniola region to asses their awareness and views about the people with intellectual disabilities and establishment of living communities. It was found out that the respondents have a medium knowledge level on the people with intellectual disabilities. Still, some characteristics of them are wrongly attributed to mental disorders. Views of the respondents about establishment of living communities in their neighbourhood were positive in general. Furthermore, a large number of respondents would like to be more aware of the intellectual disabilities. To provide the appropriate informations, the short video presentation or brochure were found as the most desired. It was shown, the prior relations of respondents with the people with intellectual disabilities do not have a statistically relevant association with their views on establishment of living communities. However, statistically relevant differences were found between the respondents views on establishment of living communities and gender. The women have a more positive views than man. Statistically significant differences were found in respondents education level and their views on living of people with intellectual disabilities in the local environment. The results of empirical study were the basis for the brochure on the people with intellectual disabilities, their characteristics, wrong views, and stereotypes. To improve the knowledge of general public on the people with intellectual disabilities, the page on social media - Bodi v stiku - was launched. In the future, the students of Special and rehabilitation pedagogy at the Faculty of Education of the University of Ljubljana and different institutions for people with intellectual disabilities will also join the project