SUPPORTING THE SOCIAL INCLUSION OF PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES – BASED ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE OCCUPATIONAL ACTIVITY CENTRE

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to show the importance of creating an environment that supports learning and the taking up of jobs by adults with intellectual disability which facilitates their social inclusion. Work makes it possible for people with intellectual disabilities to escape the stereotype of a useless individual requiring assistance and helps them experience emotional and financial satisfaction from working. It also confirms their status of being adults. The problem undertaken in the paper was analyzed in terms of the normalisation and emancipation paradigms, the concept of developmental tasks by Robert J. Havighurst, the concept of a background of an individual’s development by Frances D. Horowitz as well as the contemporary approaches to social inclusion. The paper also presents a section of empirical material explaining the process of creating an environment that supports professional work and social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities as exemplified by the organization of the Occupational Activity Centre.