在宅知的障害者の住環境に関する基礎的研究

Abstract

In the government reports on the handicapped persons published in December, 2002, it was stipulated that the persons with intellectual handicap should only be housed in the special facilities when there is a real need to do so. In other words, the basic government policy was clarified as to promote the "community life"(living at home) rather than the "confined life"(living in the specialized facilities). The purpose of this study is to find out the difficulties and their remedies in regard to the housing environments experienced by the families who have intellectually handicapped members. Through the analysis of their experiences, we have tried to set the guidlines for the future planning of the living environment for these families. Most of the families preferred to live together at home, as long as the parents were in good health conditions. However, most of them were considering the possibility to send the intellectually handicapped members to the group homes in the future. Therefore, it is necessary to think about the supports on the living environments from two sides; 1) space planning and privacy considerations at the individual homes and 2) community supports in general including the supports to the facilities like group homes. By offering these supports, we should be able to realize more friendly society for the mentally handicapped persons.