Caring for People with Intellectual Disability: Experiences

John Boulard Forkuor; Odongo Attoh Douglas; Kwao Mariepearl Dekie

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ss.20200903.12

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Caring for People with Intellectual Disability: Experiences

John Boulard Forkuor, Odongo Attoh Douglas, Kwao Mariepearl Dekie

Published in Social Sciences (Volume 9, Issue 3)

Received: 13 April 2020 Accepted: 11 May 2020 Published: 18 May 2020

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Abstract

This paper reports findings on the challenges and sources of resilience of carers of Persons with Intellectually Disabilities (PwIDs) in Ghana. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data from ten (10) institutional carers (House Mothers), and five (5) teachers at three different institutions for PwIDs in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana. The challenges carers face is because of socio-cultural perceptions regarding PwIDs as well as work related constraints. Even though this research confirmed the fear, apprehension and negative comments by family, friends and the public to care work, it also revealed that this could be due to ignorance, lack of understanding and unfamiliarity of the public with PwIDs. Despite the challenges involved with care work such as aggressive behaviour from PwIDs for instance, carers indicated that PwIDs were ‘interesting’ and ‘funny’, making the work enjoyable. The study revealed that religion and the expectation of a future blessing from God were a major source of resilience for carers. Since increased social integration has been suggested to reduce stigma against PwIDs, this study recommends that Ghanaian social workers actively engage in discussions regarding the integration of PwIDs in day-to-day social processes. Furthermore, while it is important to build the resilience of carers, it is equally relevant for Ghanaian social workers to address the source of challenge (in this case stigma and discrimination) that necessitates this resilience in the first place.

Published in	Social Sciences (Volume 9, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ss.20200903.12
Page(s)	67-76
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Persons with Intellectual Disability, Care Work and Resilience, Social Integration, Cultural Beliefs and Disabilities

References

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John Boulard Forkuor, Odongo Attoh Douglas, Kwao Mariepearl Dekie. (2020). Caring for People with Intellectual Disability: Experiences. Social Sciences, 9(3), 67-76. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20200903.12

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ACS Style

John Boulard Forkuor; Odongo Attoh Douglas; Kwao Mariepearl Dekie. Caring for People with Intellectual Disability: Experiences. Soc. Sci. 2020, 9(3), 67-76. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20200903.12

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AMA Style

John Boulard Forkuor, Odongo Attoh Douglas, Kwao Mariepearl Dekie. Caring for People with Intellectual Disability: Experiences. Soc Sci. 2020;9(3):67-76. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20200903.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ss.20200903.12,
  author = {John Boulard Forkuor and Odongo Attoh Douglas and Kwao Mariepearl Dekie},
  title = {Caring for People with Intellectual Disability: Experiences},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {9},
  number = {3},
  pages = {67-76},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20200903.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20200903.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20200903.12},
  abstract = {This paper reports findings on the challenges and sources of resilience of carers of Persons with Intellectually Disabilities (PwIDs) in Ghana. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data from ten (10) institutional carers (House Mothers), and five (5) teachers at three different institutions for PwIDs in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana. The challenges carers face is because of socio-cultural perceptions regarding PwIDs as well as work related constraints. Even though this research confirmed the fear, apprehension and negative comments by family, friends and the public to care work, it also revealed that this could be due to ignorance, lack of understanding and unfamiliarity of the public with PwIDs. Despite the challenges involved with care work such as aggressive behaviour from PwIDs for instance, carers indicated that PwIDs were ‘interesting’ and ‘funny’, making the work enjoyable. The study revealed that religion and the expectation of a future blessing from God were a major source of resilience for carers. Since increased social integration has been suggested to reduce stigma against PwIDs, this study recommends that Ghanaian social workers actively engage in discussions regarding the integration of PwIDs in day-to-day social processes. Furthermore, while it is important to build the resilience of carers, it is equally relevant for Ghanaian social workers to address the source of challenge (in this case stigma and discrimination) that necessitates this resilience in the first place.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Caring for People with Intellectual Disability: Experiences
AU  - John Boulard Forkuor
AU  - Odongo Attoh Douglas
AU  - Kwao Mariepearl Dekie
Y1  - 2020/05/18
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20200903.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20200903.12
T2  - Social Sciences
JF  - Social Sciences
JO  - Social Sciences
SP  - 67
EP  - 76
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-988X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20200903.12
AB  - This paper reports findings on the challenges and sources of resilience of carers of Persons with Intellectually Disabilities (PwIDs) in Ghana. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data from ten (10) institutional carers (House Mothers), and five (5) teachers at three different institutions for PwIDs in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana. The challenges carers face is because of socio-cultural perceptions regarding PwIDs as well as work related constraints. Even though this research confirmed the fear, apprehension and negative comments by family, friends and the public to care work, it also revealed that this could be due to ignorance, lack of understanding and unfamiliarity of the public with PwIDs. Despite the challenges involved with care work such as aggressive behaviour from PwIDs for instance, carers indicated that PwIDs were ‘interesting’ and ‘funny’, making the work enjoyable. The study revealed that religion and the expectation of a future blessing from God were a major source of resilience for carers. Since increased social integration has been suggested to reduce stigma against PwIDs, this study recommends that Ghanaian social workers actively engage in discussions regarding the integration of PwIDs in day-to-day social processes. Furthermore, while it is important to build the resilience of carers, it is equally relevant for Ghanaian social workers to address the source of challenge (in this case stigma and discrimination) that necessitates this resilience in the first place.
VL  - 9
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

John Boulard Forkuor

Department of Sociology and Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana
Odongo Attoh Douglas

Department of Sociology and Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana
Kwao Mariepearl Dekie

Department of Sociology and Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana

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John Boulard Forkuor, Odongo Attoh Douglas, Kwao Mariepearl Dekie. (2020). Caring for People with Intellectual Disability: Experiences. Social Sciences, 9(3), 67-76. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20200903.12

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ACS Style

John Boulard Forkuor; Odongo Attoh Douglas; Kwao Mariepearl Dekie. Caring for People with Intellectual Disability: Experiences. Soc. Sci. 2020, 9(3), 67-76. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20200903.12

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AMA Style

John Boulard Forkuor, Odongo Attoh Douglas, Kwao Mariepearl Dekie. Caring for People with Intellectual Disability: Experiences. Soc Sci. 2020;9(3):67-76. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20200903.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ss.20200903.12,
  author = {John Boulard Forkuor and Odongo Attoh Douglas and Kwao Mariepearl Dekie},
  title = {Caring for People with Intellectual Disability: Experiences},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {9},
  number = {3},
  pages = {67-76},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20200903.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20200903.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20200903.12},
  abstract = {This paper reports findings on the challenges and sources of resilience of carers of Persons with Intellectually Disabilities (PwIDs) in Ghana. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data from ten (10) institutional carers (House Mothers), and five (5) teachers at three different institutions for PwIDs in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana. The challenges carers face is because of socio-cultural perceptions regarding PwIDs as well as work related constraints. Even though this research confirmed the fear, apprehension and negative comments by family, friends and the public to care work, it also revealed that this could be due to ignorance, lack of understanding and unfamiliarity of the public with PwIDs. Despite the challenges involved with care work such as aggressive behaviour from PwIDs for instance, carers indicated that PwIDs were ‘interesting’ and ‘funny’, making the work enjoyable. The study revealed that religion and the expectation of a future blessing from God were a major source of resilience for carers. Since increased social integration has been suggested to reduce stigma against PwIDs, this study recommends that Ghanaian social workers actively engage in discussions regarding the integration of PwIDs in day-to-day social processes. Furthermore, while it is important to build the resilience of carers, it is equally relevant for Ghanaian social workers to address the source of challenge (in this case stigma and discrimination) that necessitates this resilience in the first place.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Caring for People with Intellectual Disability: Experiences
AU  - John Boulard Forkuor
AU  - Odongo Attoh Douglas
AU  - Kwao Mariepearl Dekie
Y1  - 2020/05/18
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20200903.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20200903.12
T2  - Social Sciences
JF  - Social Sciences
JO  - Social Sciences
SP  - 67
EP  - 76
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-988X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20200903.12
AB  - This paper reports findings on the challenges and sources of resilience of carers of Persons with Intellectually Disabilities (PwIDs) in Ghana. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data from ten (10) institutional carers (House Mothers), and five (5) teachers at three different institutions for PwIDs in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana. The challenges carers face is because of socio-cultural perceptions regarding PwIDs as well as work related constraints. Even though this research confirmed the fear, apprehension and negative comments by family, friends and the public to care work, it also revealed that this could be due to ignorance, lack of understanding and unfamiliarity of the public with PwIDs. Despite the challenges involved with care work such as aggressive behaviour from PwIDs for instance, carers indicated that PwIDs were ‘interesting’ and ‘funny’, making the work enjoyable. The study revealed that religion and the expectation of a future blessing from God were a major source of resilience for carers. Since increased social integration has been suggested to reduce stigma against PwIDs, this study recommends that Ghanaian social workers actively engage in discussions regarding the integration of PwIDs in day-to-day social processes. Furthermore, while it is important to build the resilience of carers, it is equally relevant for Ghanaian social workers to address the source of challenge (in this case stigma and discrimination) that necessitates this resilience in the first place.
VL  - 9
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download