Turning disabilities into abilities. Promoting self-management in people with intellectual disabilities

This dissertation highlights that people with intellectual disabilities (ID) generally have the ability and the desire to manage their affairs more independently, which can positively influence their lives. Promoting self-management in people with ID therefore deserves more attention. Whereas previous self-management interventions for people with ID mostly focused on teaching singular practical skills, we aimed to target the promotion of overall self-management. Several barriers are experienced when trying to promote this, such as a lack of time for support staff to guide people with ID, and staff and relatives taking over. What seems necessary is more time and support, next to a clear, tailored, and step-by-step approach. Fostering the transfer of learnt skills to daily life also needs to be considered in interventions, as well as involving the support network of relatives and support staff. Staff need to ensure good communication and coordination between all people involved, adopt a tailored approach, positively encourage people with ID during the learning process, and let them handle things as much as possible themselves. In our evaluations of self-management interventions for people with ID, we concluded that these are generally found to be effective.Raamwerk, Universiteit LeidenHealth and self-regulatio