A Study On The Mode Of Elderly Care For People With Intellectual Disability In Shanghai

Population aging, as a global trend in the 21^st century, has brought about an urgent issue that every nation must concern: the elderly care. As a developing country with a heavy population, China is facing an especially big challenge, and our government is actively taking all kinds of methods to handle the situation.Among the increasing old generation, the disabled people are having more problems with their elderly care. People with intellectual disabilities are in bigger danger due to their limited intelligence and social adaptability. It is no doubt that quick actions must be taken to provide them with a dignified life in their old years.This research first looks back into the history of elderly care and finds out that: 1) Elderly care is closely related to the social productive force. 2) Family plays an important part in elderly care. 3) Social support is the major way for elderly care in the industrialized countries. As a conclusion, elderly care in modern society will rely on the following three aspects: first, community care, which enables old people to live a good life at home or in the neighbourhood; second, social service, which emphasize the necessity of social service; third, long term care, which stresses the time need for elderly care. The writer also found that elderly care are very often practiced in families in our country. However, now there is a lack of both theoratical reacarch and. government policy on the elderly care of intellectually disabled people.To fill this gap, this research surveyed the intellectually disabled people in Shanghai who stay at home orlive in government institutions, and interviewed some of them. The result shows that: 1) Most of these people are in poor health and in bad need for more care. 2) Most of them are living a poor life with out job or retirement pension. 3) Most of them are childless so it's hard to find some one from the family to take care of them. 4) They have heavy family burdens while lack social support. 5) The government institutions are too faraway from city center, so it's incovenient for the family to visit the patient. 6) Their families wish they be taken care of at home, but the lack of social service makes it almost impossible for them to do so.At last, the writer give some suggestions and proposition based on the needs of the intellectually disabled elderly people.