Ageing with disability : Date:
How can the participation in society of people with intellectual disabilities in various forms of housing be supported in old age? This is the question being investigated by Catholic University of Applied Sciences of North Rhine–Westphalia (KatHO NRW) in Münster within the framework of the MUTIG project.
People with intellectual disabilities face special challenges in old age: critical life events such as the death of their parents, the transition from working life to retirement or the loss of physical strength change their life situation and thus their need for support. Professional services and institutions for disability assistance have so far not sufficiently adapted to the changing life situations of these people. The aim of the KatHO NRW Münster project is to develop innovative concepts that support people with intellectual disabilities in living in their own four walls in a self-determined manner for as long as possible and while continuing to participate in social life.
In the MUTIG project, the research team – led by psychologist Friedrich Dieckmann and curative education professor Sabine Schäper – is first investigating where, with whom and in what forms of housing older people with intellectual disabilities live today, and for what reasons members of this group of people move where. At the same time, the researchers want to work out what structural leeway or barriers there are under social law when it comes to adapting support in different forms of housing in a person-centred way. In the third step, it is planned to identify and evaluate three innovative projects in Germany and abroad and to examine the transferability of successful practices.
The project team works together with all interest groups: first and foremost, with the people affected themselves, but also with providers of disability assistance and service providers. The partners of the project are the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe and the Landesverband Lebenshilfe NRW. Based on the results of the research, the project aims to develop models of support for living alone or in twos, in shared flats or in community-integrated dormitories. These models are to ensure participation in society, but also be organisable and financially sustainable.
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is supporting the research project with about 390,000 euros within the framework of the SILQUA-FH funding line as part of the Research at Universities of Applied Sciences programme.