J. Van Loon et G. Van Hove, Emancipation and self-determination of people with learning disabilities and down-sizing institutional care, DISABIL SOC, 16(2), 2001, pp. 233-254
In Arduin, an organisation for services to people with learning disabilitie
s in the Netherlands, the emancipation and self-determination of people wit
h 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 depend
ence 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 cl
ient desires'. In this article article the background and developments in p
erception are being outlined, and those dimensions in quality of life are e
laborated that are seen as most essential in the innovation: inclusion, sel
f-determination and personal development. The choices that were made as a c
onsequence in Arduin and most fundamental the choice to dismantle the insti
tution are described.