Perceived Needs of People with Intellectual Disabilities Undergoing the Ageing Process

Ageing in people with intellectual disabilities is a social reality that poses challenges for the individual, their family and social environment, and the direct care services. The main objective of this study was to identify the perceived needs of a sample of people with intellectual disabilities currently undergoing the process of ageing.

Cluster random sampling was used to select the 211 individuals with intellectual disabilities who took part in the study. The participants were aged between 42 and 75 years (M = 56.18; SD = 8.60; Mdn = 55), of whom 55.9% (n = 118) were women and 43.6% (n = 92) were men. Part of the sample completed the Interview for the Needs Evaluation of Ageing People with Disabilities interview by themselves, while the rest did so with support.

All the participants identified needs across all the areas assessed, and differences were found according to sex (δ = 0.24-δ = 0.26), age group (δ = 0.20), living arrangements (δ = 0.16-δ = 0.26) and severity of intellectual disability (ε² = 0.03-ε² = 0.08). No differences were found between those who completed the interview independently and those who did so with assistance.

The perceived needs of people with intellectual disabilities undergoing the ageing process are complex and multidimensional. Understanding these needs could potentially be useful when designing person-centred needs-based programmes and service models.