Describing Emerging Adulthood in Individuals with Intellectual Disability Using Photo-Elicitation Methodology

Abstract

For adults with intellectual disability life as an adult is more constrained, with fewer opportunities; the literature indicates that intellectual disability negatively impacts people across multiple life domains. Despite this adverse influence, it is largely unknown how those with intellectual disability describe their experiences with adulthood. The current study utilizes photo-elicitation interviewing methodology in an attempt to rectify this deficit. Photo-elicitation research methodology uses images, rather than text, to construct queries and prompt responses. This approach is generally undertaken in disability studies to accommodate participants’ verbal and cognitive challenges, to make abstract concepts concrete, to provide opportunity for meaningful participation, and to empower subjects within the research environment. In this study, photo-elicitation interviewing was employed with a sample of 11 young adults with intellectual disability to discover how adulthood might differ in comparison with typical peers. Participants shared their perceptions of adulthood and experiences related to family, learning/education; community/volunteering/spiritual or faith community/employment/vocation; housing/neighborhood; friends/supportive relationships/personal connections; hobbies/fun; personal health. Results replicate participants’ endorsement of the same broad criteria for adulthood attainment as typified by normative peers in the emerging adulthood literature: acceptance of responsibility for oneself; independent decision-making; financial independence. Salient emergent findings specific to the study population indicated that adulthood differs in comparison with typical peers in relation to (1), advocacy efforts to increase awareness and value of the disability experience; (2), the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic; (3), the need for continued access to support services. Access to services can only be achieved through increasing awareness of this need, recognizing the importance of this need, and prioritizing policy change to meet this need. Participants in this study have indicated that they are more than up to the task of increasing awareness through advocacy, yet it falls to social institutions such as education and government to recognize this need for ongoing support and to prioritize this need by implementing service provision policy change.