A Study of Support System for Mentally Retarded Person

1997 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 07451066
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Educaion
• Research Institution: Toyo University
• Principal Investigator: FUJISHIMA Takashi Toyo University, Faculty of Literature, Professor, 文学部, 教授 (80058007)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): KAWAIKE Tomoko Yamanashi Women's Junior College, Associate Professor, 幼児教育科, 助教授 (00224725) ; AMANO Maki Toyo University, Faculty of Sociorogy, Professor, 社会学部, 教授 (50106035)
• Project Period (FY): 1995 – 1997
• Keywords: Mental Retardation / Special Education / Social Walfare for the handicapped / Support of Living / Self-determination / School for handicapped children

Research Abstract

This study aim at the clarification of the way how to educate the mental retarded and to support their life order to ensure their social independence.
In the first year, we tried to investigate mainly through reference books and performed some pre-tests. And in the next year, we did two investigations : one for the family members of the mental retarded, and the other for the staffs of the institutions. It was the investigation how to they think about "social independence" and "self-determination" of the mental retarded persons as well as how do they support those peopel. In the third year, we did the same investigation in another local area and compared it with that of the previous year. We also interviewed the teachers of the school for the mental retarded. As the result, following points have besome clear to us :
1)The idea of "self-determinations" is quite different from one to another.that is, family members, the staff of the institutions.and the teachers have not the same idea or understanding of the word. We also found out that the idea is even different from one region to another and that the difference of understanding itself is the problem in aiding those people.
2)The aid for the mental retarded to make their self-determination varies from one to another according to the degrees of their handicap, and the method of the aid has not yet established.
3)To develop the ability of self-determination and socially independent in the persons of the mental retarded, systematic aid and education in each life-stage is necessary. But such necessity is not sufficiently recognised in general.
In those above mentioned points, there still remains some problems. But the method of solving the problems has become clearer through our investigations.