Supporting People With Intellectual Disabilities and Mental Illness

 

People with a dual diagnosis of intellectual disability and mental illness may receive support from specialised community agencies, Direct Support Workers, family members, and volunteers.

Support should focus on the whole person, rather than seeing the individual only through their disability or mental illness.

Where Support Takes Place

Support can be provided in many different environments, including:

• Residential settings — supporting someone in their home or supported living environment.
• Vocational settings — supporting education, training, or employment.
• Recreational settings — helping people participate in hobbies and activities.
• Leisure settings — supporting participation in social and community activities.

The goal is not simply to provide care, but to help people live, participate, make choices, and belong in their communities.

Guiding Principles

1. Citizenship

People with disabilities are full members of society and should have the same rights and opportunities as other citizens.

This includes the right to:

• Participate in their community.
• Develop relationships.
• Work or study where appropriate.
• Make choices.
• Have their voice heard.

2. Individual Control

People should have as much choice and control over their own lives as possible.

This means people with disabilities should be involved in decisions about:

• Their support.
• Their services.
• Their goals.
• Their daily lives.
• Policies and services that affect them.

“Nothing about us without us” is a useful way of remembering this principle.

3. Equality and Human Rights

Having an intellectual disability or mental illness does not take away a person's human rights.

People should be treated with:

• Dignity
• Respect
• Equality
• Fairness
• Freedom from discrimination

4. Universal Design

Universal design means designing environments, products, information, and services so that they can be used by as many people as possible without needing special adaptations.

Examples include:

• Ramps and step-free entrances.
• Accessible toilets.
• Clear signs.
• Easy-to-understand information.
• Captions.
• Good lighting.
• Accessible websites.

Universal design benefits many different people, not only people with disabilities.

Disability and Environmental Barriers

One important idea in this section is the difference between a disability and a barrier created by the environment.

For example:

A person who uses a wheelchair encounters a building with stairs but no ramp.

The person's physical impairment does not change when a ramp is installed.

But the environmental barrier is removed.

Before the ramp:

Person + inaccessible environment → restricted access

After the ramp:

Person + accessible environment → greater access and participation

This connects strongly with the social model of disability, where disability is understood partly in terms of barriers created by society and the environment.

Easy-Read Summary

People with intellectual disabilities and mental illness may need support from workers, families, and volunteers.

Support can happen at home, at work, in education, and in recreational and community settings.

People with disabilities have the same human rights as everyone else.

They should have choice and control over their lives and should be involved in decisions about services and policies that affect them.

Universal design means creating environments that can be used by as many people as possible.

Accessible environments can remove barriers and help people participate more fully in society.