افراد با معلولیت ذهنی: مربیان در هنردرمانی بیانی

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe students’ experiences during their participation in Express Yourself, an expressive arts service-learning program that partners university students from several different programs with adults with intellectual disabilities. In reflective papers students reported that they were most challenged in meeting their partners, determining their partners’ abilities and their own role, and assisting their partners in expressing themselves through art. We found that students need instruction in how to speak respectfully to individuals with intellectual disabilities and that students benefit from the time to reflect on their experiences. Our results support the conclusions of previous research on service learning that direct experience with individuals with disabilities can reduce stereotypes and facilitate understanding between individuals.

Knowledge of social and cultural diversity is widely understood as fundamental to the preparation of mental health professionals. While numerous practitioners (for example, Baruth & Manning, 2007; Sue & Sue, 2003) advocate for and give guidance on incorporating multiculturalism into the coursework of mental health professionals, one type of diversity has received minimal attention—the needs of individuals and families of individuals with intellectual disabilities. An intellectual disability, also known as a developmental disability or mental retardation, involves significant impairment in intelligence and significant limitations in adaptive functioning which started before adulthood. Estimates of the prevalence of intellectual disabilities range from 1 to 3% (Sulkes, 2006) affecting about 1 in 10 families in the United States (United States Department of Health and Human Services, 2007). According to Special Olympics (2006), people with intellectual disabilities form the largest disability population on earth. Intellectual disabilities can occur in any family, cutting across racial, ethnic, educational, and economic boundaries. Best practices for the treatment of individuals with intellectual disabilities usually include care by a multidisciplinary team as well as individual and family support services. Community inclusion, increased self-determination, and capacity for self-advocacy are usual goals for treatment. Middleton, Rollins, and Harley (1999) compare the historical and political context of the civil rights of persons with disabilities in the United States with the civil rights movement of African-Americans. They recommend that mental health educators explore alternative ways to develop training experiences so that professionals can be more responsive to clients with disabilities. Express Yourself is one such training program, and the purpose of this paper is to describe the experiences of students who are learning to work with individuals with intellectual disabilities through their participation in Express Yourself.