Promoting long-term relationships between individuals with mental retardation and people in their community: an agency self-evaluation.
A descriptive analysis was conducted of data from survey instruments completed by 25 trained volunteers serving for more than one year as companions to people with mental retardation. Factors such as a strong orientation process, adequate support from staff, appropriate matching with the people with mental retardation, positive characteristics of the people with disabilities, and a high perceived degree of reciprocity were characteristic of these stable relationships. Volunteers and their partners participated in a variety of recreational activities together. Although they encountered various logistical barriers to the relationships, respondents reported that these barriers did not impede the relationships.
Jameson
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Community Access Program, Newton-Wellesley-Weston Committee for Community Living, Inc., Newton, MA 02166, USA. newtonwell@aol.com
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D001900:Boston; D003688:Deinstitutionalization; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012944:Social Support; D014838:Volunteers / Q000523:psychology*