"I'm a person of value": People with intellectual disability negotiating paid support relationships

Changing philosophies affect change in how people with disability are supported. In Australia, paid workers provide most formal services in people’s homes. However, the experience of support from the perspective of those accessing services is concealed. This qualitative research analysed accounts of people with intellectual disability to reveal their experiences of support. Contrasting dominant social narratives of dependence, ‘being a person of value’ was a central theme in the perception and presentation of self in support relationships. These findings call for support agencies to offer greater respect, person-centredness, choice and control to people with intellectual disability