title: Defining social inclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities: an ecological model of social networks and community participation.
abstract: Social inclusion is an important goal for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, families, service providers, and policymakers; however, the concept of social inclusion remains unclear, largely due to multiple and conflicting definitions in research and policy. We define social inclusion as the interaction between two major life domains: interpersonal relationships and community participation. We then propose an ecological model of social inclusion that includes individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and socio-political factors. We identify four areas of research that our ecological model of social inclusion can move forward: (1) organizational implementation of social inclusion; (2) social inclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities living with their families, (3) social inclusion of people along a broader spectrum of disability, and (4) the potential role of self-advocacy organizations in promoting social inclusion.
authors.affiliation: MSU-DOCTRID (Michigan State University - Daughters of Charity - Technology, Research Into Disability) Research Institute, Hegarty Fellow Program, Michigan State University, USA; Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education, Michigan State University, USA.
authors.forename: Stacy Clifford
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Simplican
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland. Electronic address: geraldine.leader@nuigalway.ie.
authors.forename: Geraldine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Leader
authors.affiliation: MSU-DOCTRID (Michigan State University - Daughters of Charity - Technology, Research Into Disability) Research Institute, Hegarty Fellow Program, Michigan State University, USA; Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education, Michigan State University, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kosciulek
authors.affiliation: MSU-DOCTRID (Michigan State University - Daughters of Charity - Technology, Research Into Disability) Research Institute, Hegarty Fellow Program, Michigan State University, USA; Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education, Michigan State University, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leahy
mesh_terms: D003256:Community Participation; D002658:Developmental Disabilities; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D008607:Intellectual Disability; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D066270:Social Capital; D012934:Social Isolation; D058992:Social Participation; D012944:Social Support
keywords: Community participation; Developmental disabilities; Ecological model; Intellectual disabilities; Interpersonal relationships; Social inclusion