Sutrikusio intelekto asmenų dalyvavimas visuomenės gyvenime: subjektyvaus suvokimo analizė

The concepts or social inclusion, participation of mentally disabled persons in social life are highly discussed in Lithuania. But the persons with mental handicaps are often the objects, not the subjects of these discussions. In the research presented in this article the attempt has been made to evaluate the extent and intensity of social participation from the perspective or mentally disabled persons themselves. The interview method has been used to investigate the perceptions of young mentally retarded individuals of these aspects of social life: social activity and the sense of well being, the personal meaning of the participation, the possibilities and the obstacles of participation, the opportunities to decide for themselves the level of participation, the sense of identity, etc. The research revealed, that mentally disabled persons do feel quite active in the social life in their immediate environment, they often feel as the decision-makers in the context of suggested choices, they describe themselves as being quite happy in their daily lives and connect the feeling of happiness mostly with their competences in different kind of activities, the possibilities to use these competences and with the existence of the social network of very close people (family members, friends, etc.). It has been also found that the value of participation is subjectively measured mostly not by the results of such participation, but by the process of participation itself.Sutrikusio intelekto asmenų dalyvavimo ir socialinės įtraukties sąvokos yra plačiai diskutuojamos Lietuvoje. Tačiau asmenis su proto negalią šiuo yra diskusijų objektai, o ne subjektai. Šiame straipsnyje yra pristatomas tyrimas, kurio tikslas buvo įvertinti sutrikusio intelekto asmenų dalyvavimo laipsnį iš jų pačių perspektyvos. Tyrime buvo naudojamas interviu metodas ir buvo siekiama įvertinti šiuos socialinio gyvenimo aspektus: socialinį aktyvumą ir gerbūvio pojūtį, asmeninę dalyvavimo prasmę; dalyvavimo galimybes ir kliūtis, galia nuspręsti asmeninio dalyvavimo laipsnį, identiteto jausmą ir kitus. Surinktų duomenų analizė parodė, kad sutrikusio intelekto asmenys jaučiasi aktyvus savo artimoje aplinkoje, jie jaučiasi esą sprendimų priėmėjais pateiktų pasirinkimų kontekste, jie yra laimingi savo kasdieniame gyvenime ir laimės jausmą sieja su veiklų atlikimo kompetencijomis, galimybėmis panaudoti šias kompetencijas ir su labai artimo socialinio tinklo egzistavimu (šeimos nariai, draugai ir t.t.). Taip pat buvo atskleista, kad dalyvavimo vertė siejama ne su dalyvavimo rezultatais, bet su pačiu procesu

Kvietimas socialiniam dialogui

2011 metų pavasarį išleistas pirmasis Tarptautinės socialinio darbo mokyklų asociacijos (IASSW) žurnalas ,,Social Dialogue“. Įžanginiame straipsnyje tuometinė IASSW prezidentė Honkongo universiteto profesorė Angelina Yuen pažymėjo, kad leidinio tikslas – sukurti erdvę, kurioje socialinio darbo dėstytojai galėtų dalytis patirtimi bei tarptautinio bendradarbiavimo idėjomis. Galimybė dalytis su kolegomis žinojimu, laimėjimais, problemomis – tai ir galimybė tobulėti profesionaliai

Asmeninių kompetencijų reikšmė tarpdisciplininės komandos veikloje

SummaryA complex support of a person in a difficult life situation requires coordinated efforts of specialists representing various professional fields. The quality of support and successful interdisciplinary team work in general depends not only on the complexity of the task, but also on competencies demonstrated by individual members of a team and the whole team in general. In the article the significance of personal competencies in interdisciplinary teams is analysed, based on the opinions survey of professionals working in early childhood intervention services. The method of expert evaluation (questionnaire) was used. Respondents were asked to compose two lists of competencies: firstly, to cognitively reflect on competencies which they considered important for the team work and, secondly, to recall most important competencies which they observed in practice and which most contributed to the successful team work. The lists of competencies composed by professionals revealed that in the current stage of interdisciplinary cooperation (when traditions of common work of different professionals are not yet strong) experts allocate the highest importance to competencies closely related to personal qualities of a colleague, such as agreeableness (revealed in the cognitive reflection) and openness to new experience (revealed in practice reflection).Key words: interdisciplinary team, personal competence, reflection.Vilniaus universitetasSocialinio darbo katedraUniversiteto g. 9/1 – 309 kab.LT-01513 VilniusTel. 8 615 17 924El. paštas: [email protected] Šio straipsnio tikslas – remiantis skirtingoms disciplinoms atstovaujančių specialistų nuomonių tyrimu aptarti asmeninių kompetencijų reikšmę tarpdisciplininių ankstyvosios intervencijos vaikystėje komandų veiklai. Įvairioms profesinėms sritims atstovaujančių specialistų kompleksinė pagalba rizikos situacijoje esančiam žmogui reikalauja darnių veiksmų. Tokių veiksmų sėkmė priklauso ne tik nuo sprendžiamos problemos sudėtingumo, bet ir nuo kompetencijų, kurias demonstruoja atskiri komandos nariai ir visa komanda. Ankstyvosios intervencijos tarnybų specialistų sudaryti kompetencijų sąrašai parodė, kad dabartiniame tarpdisciplininio bendradarbiavimo etape (nesant senų tokio bendradarbiavimo tradicijų) didžiausia reikšmė yra skiriama komandos nario geranoriškumui ir atvirumui patirčiai.Pagrindiniai žodžiai: tarpdisciplininė komanda, asmeninė kompetencija, refleksija. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PERSONAL COMPETENCIES IN THE WORK OF AN INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAMVioleta Gevorgianienė SummaryA complex support of a person in a difficult life situation requires coordinated efforts of specialists representing various professional fields. The quality of support and successful interdisciplinary team work in general depends not only on the complexity of the task, but also on competencies demonstrated by individual members of a team and the whole team in general. In the article the significance of personal competencies in interdisciplinary teams is analysed, based on the opinions survey of professionals working in early childhood intervention services. The method of expert evaluation (questionnaire) was used. Respondents were asked to compose two lists of competencies: firstly, to cognitively reflect on competencies which they considered important for the team work and, secondly, to recall most important competencies which they observed in practice and which most contributed to the successful team work. The lists of competencies composed by professionals revealed that in the current stage of interdisciplinary cooperation (when traditions of common work of different professionals are not yet strong) experts allocate the highest importance to competencies closely related to personal qualities of a colleague, such as agreeableness (revealed in the cognitive reflection) and openness to new experience (revealed in practice reflection).Key words: interdisciplinary team, personal competence, reflection

Šeimos narių patirtis globojant Alzheimerio liga sergančius artimuosius

Lithuanian society is quickly aging. It is presumed that in 2030 there will be 27 perc. persons older than 60. Aging population is affected by various diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. According to the State Mental Health Centre, almost half of the people between 85-90 years may have this disease, but only1,5 thousand are registered officially. The problem of diagnosis lies in the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease – they often overlap with symptoms of other illnesses and are not easily recognisable. It is found that this disease affects males more often.Alzheimer’s disease, which deteriorates all areas of a person’s functioning, is a continuous stressor, which affects the whole family system. Immediate members of a family have to make a decision related to the patient’s care. Due to the lack of specialised services for persons suffering from this disease, family members often resolve to care for the patient at home. Research (Lemme, 2003, etc.) indicates that caring for the affected family member is often considered the duty of a female member of the family.Qualitative research presented in this article is aimed at investigating specific experiences of a family looking after a person with Alzheimer’s. The data is analysed in the perspective of intergenerational solidarity (Bengston et al., 2001), which encompasses various aspects of relationships between parents and their adult children. Few types of intergenerational solidarity are identified: normative solidarity, defined by mutual expectations and values, which determines mutual duties; structural solidarity, which refers to the factors that enhance or reduce the opportunity for social interaction between parents and children; associational solidarity, which reflects intensity of communication; affectual solidarity, as a degree of positive emotions and their reciprocity; consensual solidarity, as an agreement on values, attitudes, and beliefs among family members, and, finally, functional solidarity, which addresses the quantity of help and exchange that takes place between the family members. Despite some criticism of this approach, it does allow to reveal the deficit of psychosocial resources that a family possesses, as well as to identify areas that require external support.Seven participants took part in the research. Five of them were taking care of their family member affected by Alzheimer’s, two (a social worker and a psychologist) were working with persons suffering from Alzheimer’s and their family members. Three informants took care of their mothers, one – of her father and one – of her husband. The length of care varied from two to six years. The average age of informants was 54,2 years. The average age of a family member with Alzheimer’s – 78,6 years. All ethical considerations, including information about the aim of the research, its process and length, confidentiality of data, free choice of interview time and place were taken into consideration.The research yielded the following results: decision to care about a family member at home was often caused by distrust in the official care system, but also by the so-called normative solidarity – the feeling of responsibility for the family member affected by Alzheimer’s. In the process of care, caregivers met serious psychosocial challenges that they were not always able to master independently. One of the most difficult experiences was the decline of personality of a family member affected by the disease, especially, if he or she used to be a source of support to others earlier (as in the case of a parent affected by the disease). Often participants stated the deterioration of relationships with the person and a feeling of “an end”. At the same time, the disease increased mutual interdependence, especially when the person could no longer take care of herself. From the perspective of intergenerational solidarity, this mutual dependence is often caused by affectual solidarity developed during all life. The psychologist stated that this dependence was one of the obstacles to seek psychological support, because the caregiver was reluctant to leave her mother/father at home. Interviews with experts revealed that families needed two types of support – one for the sick family member and another – for the caregiver. However, caregivers themselves did not articulated this need, denied the need for official support and were instead inclined to search for inner resources that would help them to cope with the situation (such as talking to a sister or another family member, a neighbour, etc.). From the perspective of intergenerational theory, the functional solidarity in difficult daily situations was extremely important.Only when the challenges of caring for a family member exceeded caregivers’ inner resources, family members did decide to seek external support. The need for the support “here and now”, when the problem occurs, was stressed upon. However, there are no services specifically designed for the needs of caregivers. Even social workers and other specialists don’t have sufficient knowledge about Alzheimer’s disease and needs of informal caregivers; as a result, family members lack information, psychological support and feel “invisible” to the social service system. In this situation, the functional solidarity, expressed in mutual exchange of support among extended family members was the key factor. Considering possible tensions or conflicts in the family system, such reliance solely on a family support should be considered a risk factor.Due to the limited number of participants, research results cannot be generalised, however, they reveal the urgent need to search for ways to reduce the caregivers’ stress and fatigue, to create opportunities for carers to remain in the labour market and active social life in general.Alzheimerio liga paveikia visą šeimos sistemą. Artimiesiems tenka spręsti ligonio globos klausimus. Nesant specializuotų paslaugų, dažnai ryžtamasi globoti ligonį namuose. Kokybinis tyrimas, kuriuo siekta atskleisti šeimos narių patirtį globos procese, parodė, kad kartų solidarumo teorijos požiūriu apsisprendimą globoti dažniausiai lemia normatyvinis solidarumas ir nepasitikėjimas globos institucijomis. Artimieji susiduria su dideliais globos iššūkiais ir ne visada pajėgūs juos įveikti patys. Tačiau paslaugų, kurios atlieptų specifinius globėjų poreikius, stinga. Todėl Alzheimerio liga sergančius artimuosius globojantys šeimos nariai, nepaisant didelio socialinės pagalbos, informacijos ir psichologinės paramos poreikio, lieka ,,nematomi“ paslaugų sistemai. Šiuo požiūriu didelę reikšmę įgyja funkcinis šeimos narių solidarumas, suponuojantis paramos mainus sudėtingomis globos situacijomis

Verslumas socialiniame darbe – profesijos bruožas ar iššūkis?

The competence of a social worker traditionally presupposes certain instrumental capacities – to identify needs, organize help and assess outcomes. The creative nature of the profession is often undermined. The article explores the possibility of reconciling two different competencies: the one of an entrepreneur and the other of a social worker. The authors aim to compare the values and skills required in both professional fields and, through an example of the intensive course, to offer one of educational models of the developing entrepreneurial competence.Firstly, the concept of entrepreneurship is discussed underlining the similarities between the activities in two fields: social work and entrepreneurship. It is argued that the so-called “entrepreneurial mindset” is inherently part of social work professional activities. Openness to change, capacity to identify new opportunities, take risks, tolerate failure, etc. are the main elements of entrepreneurial competence. Along with this, a person’s ability to communicate and cooperate with others, to create networks, to inspire people for a change are also components of the entrepreneurial spirit which reveals the social aspect of entrepreneurship. However, the aim of social work – to help people to overcome disrupted relations among them and their environment – requires from social workers the same capacities as those mentioned above.In the second part of the article, the authors discuss the educational preconditions for social workers’ entrepreneurial competence. The discussion is based on the description of the intensive (10 days) international courses for social work students. The aim of the courses was to create a learning environment for the development of entrepreneurial competencies. The aim of the qualitative research (participative observation) was to assess the relevance of the learning environment for their development. Three main outcomes were expected: the openness to change, ability to identify new opportunities, communication and cooperation skills. The educational paradigm appropriate for the development of these competencies was based on three aspects: solution of a real social work problem, presented by a practice institution, cooperation in an international group, and students’ leading role in the learning process. The evaluation of the courses, which was based mostly on the students’ self-reflection, revealed that most students identified in themselves the development of entrepreneurial competencies and that the learning model was favourable for developing them. The authors argue that it is necessary to include the education of entrepreneurial values and skills into social work programs as well as to articulate the abilities that are already in. The awareness of the creative nature of the profession might help upgrade its status in the country as well as to redeem the professional dignity of social workers.Docentė socialinių mokslų(edukologija) daktarėVilniaus universiteto Socialinio darbo katedraUniversiteto g. 9/1, LT-01513 VilniusTel. (85) 266 76 10El. paštas: [email protected]ė socialinių mokslų(socialinis darbas) daktarėFree university of Bozen-Bolzano (Italija)Regensburger Allee 16 - viale Ratisbona, 1639042 Brixen-BressanoneEl. paštas: [email protected] norima aptarti verslumo kompetencijos svarbą socialiniame darbe ir apibūdinti vieną iš galimų jos plėtotės būdų. Teigiama, kad atvirumas pokyčiams, palankių galimybių identifikavi­mas ir kiti verslumo kompetencijos elementai yra būdingi ir socialinio darbuotojo profesinei veiklai. Pateikiama tarptautinių intensyvių socialinio darbo kursų proceso ir rezultatų apžvalga. Aprašo­mame didaktiniame modelyje ryškėja trys aspektai: realios praktinės problemos sprendimas, ben­dradarbiavimas studentų grupėje ir vadovaujantis studentų vaidmuo mokymosi procese

Skirtingo tipo mokyklų nežymiai sutrikusio intelekto mokinių akademiniai pasiekimai

Integrated education or inclusion despite its progress still encounters negative attitudes of teachers of general education schools. Ambivalent opinions arc manifested in scientific literature both in Lithuania and abroad. It is argued that important prerequisites for the successful integration of mildly mentally disabled students are as follows: attitudes of teaching staff and normally developed peers; school leaders, maintaining values of inclusion; cooperation of teaching staff; appropriate evaluation system; support for teachers and students; constructive participation of parents; models of effective education programs, adapted individual education plan; appropriate learning activities, etc. As important factors arc also mentioned adequate financing and adaptation of physical environment. Due to the fact, that not all these requirements are met in national schools, practitioners very often claim, that mildly mentally disabled students are not able to succeed in general schools, moreover, they interfere with the academic achievements of normally developing peers, who do not get sufficient attention of teachers, because their support has to be distributed among students with too different needs. However there is little real evidence about the academic achievements of mildly mentally retarded students, who learn in different schools (general education (mainstream) and special schools). In 2004 the research aimed at comparing academic achievements of primary grades mildly mentally disabled students has been carried out by the authors of this research. The research was based on the evaluations of teachers, who taught these students. The results indicated that there were no significant differences in academic achievements of different school students, despite methodical and financial problems which still were encountered in integrated education environment. Taking into account that academic content on higher stages of education becomes more abstract (thus it less corresponds with intellectual abilities of mildly mentally disabled students), the presupposition was made that in higher school grades a considerable difference of academic achievements on behalf of special schools' students would be manifested. The aim of the research, presented in the article, was to compare academic achievements of 14-15 years old mildly mentally disabled pupils, educated in different learning environments - in special and in general education schools. Since it was difficult to find mildly mentally disabled students of this age in both types of schools, the research extended to several schools throughout the country. The method used in the research was a questionnaire/scale, which consisted of a number of statements, describing desirable abilities for pupils of this age in 2 main areas - Lithuanian language and mathematics. Teachers from both types of schools (overall 56) fulfilled the questionnaires estimating abilities of each pupil in a scale from 0 to 3 (the results were compared using Student t distribution, level of significance - 0,05). Comparative analysis of pupils' abilities revealed that academic achievements of special schools' children in the area of Lithuanian language differed significantly from their peers in ordinary schools, but almost no difference was found in mathematic skills except the ability to read Roman numerals, which was estimated higher for special schools. The slight advantage of special schools may be explained by still unresolved organizational difficulties of integrated education (inflexible education plan, teacher-student rate, etc.), as well as methodical problems (lack of special education skills, activities, which do not correspond with the level of child development, etc.). Despite this, teachers possibly were using a different frame of reference: general educators tend to compare achievements of disabled children with those of their normally developing classmates, meanwhile special schools teachers more often use ideographic assessment, taking into account the individual development of a child. This factor could cause some subjectivity in the assessment as well. Nevertheless, considering significant organizational and methodical difficulties currently encountered in integrated education, results of the research allow maintaining that integrated learning environment provides sufficient academic learning opportunities for mildly mentally disabled children. Next attempt should be undertaken to estimate social benefits, which mainstreaming provides for development of social competence of mentally disabled students. Keywords: mental disability, integrated education, inclusion, special needs, academic achievementsLietuvoje nesiliauja diskusijos apie sutrikusio intelekto vaikų ugdymo bendrojo lavinimo mokykloje pranašumus ir trūkumus. Daugiausia tyrinėjamos ugdymo dalyvių nuostatos dėl sutrikusio intelekto vaikų integracijos ir sunkumų, su kuriais susiduriama organizuojant šių vaikų ugdymo procesą. Straipsnyje, remiantis pedagogų vertinimais, aptariami 14-15 metų nežymiai sutrikusio intelekto vaikų, besiugdančių bendrojo lavinimo ir specialiosiose mokyklose, akademiniai pasiekimai mokantis matematikos ir lietuvių kalbos. Lyginamoji analizė neatskleidė ryškių kurio nors tipo mokyklos ugdymo aplinkos pranašumų akademinių gebėjimų požiūriu

Ribų valdymas asmeninių socialinių paslaugų erdvėje: samprata, iššūkiai ir galimybės

In the face of external threats, Lithuania\u27s personal social services system must adapt to ensure the continued delivery of services. It must respond to the need to change the content of services, expand the scope of services to include new clients, attract or admit new social service providers, and manage the boundaries between formally provided social services and other individuals and organizations offering assistance. The aim of this article is to define the concepts of \u27boundaries\u27 and \u27boundary work\u27 in the context of personal social services\u27 resilience to external threats and to investigate how actors from different social spaces—formal (institutionalized) social service providers and non-formal (non-institutionalized) social assistance providers—characterize their interactions with each other and perform \u27boundary work\u27. Research methods include interviews and focus groups. Research participants comprise: 1) formal social service providers (8 focus groups), and 2) informal actors operating in municipalities of different sizes (10 interviews). The study revealed that crises lead to shifts in the boundaries between the activities of different social service providers, increased interactions between actors from different social spaces, the creation of new cooperation networks, emerging opportunities for action, and limitations in their activities. In this phase of challenges and the search for solutions, new social service providers emerge and the contours of new forms of assistance take shape. Reflecting on the experience of crises allows for the construction of future projections for possible recurrent threats.Lietuvai susidūrus su išorinėmis grėsmėmis, asmeninių socialinių paslaugų sistema turi prisitaikyti prie poreikio keisti paslaugų turinį ir įsileisti naujus socialinių paslaugų teikėjus, taigi valdyti veiklos ribas tarp formaliai teikiamų socialinių paslaugų ir kitų pagalbą teikiančių asmenų bei organizacijų. Straipsnio tikslas – apibrėžti ribų ir ribų valdymo sampratą bei atskleisti, kaip skirtingų socialinių erdvių veikėjai – formalių (institucionalizuotų) socialinių paslaugų teikėjai bei neformalią (neinstitucionalizuotą) socialinę pagalbą teikiantys asmenys – valdo savo veiklos ribas. Tyrime dalyvavo formalūs socialinių paslaugų teikėjai (8 fokus grupės) ir neformalūs pagalbos teikėjai, veikiantys skirtingo dydžio savivaldybėse (10 interviu). Tyrimas atskleidė, kad krizės paskatina skirtingų socialinių paslaugų teikėjų veiklos ribų kaitą, atveria naujų veiklos galimybių. Šioje takioje iššūkių ir paieškų, kaip juos atliepti, fazėje formuojasi naujų pagalbos formų kontūrai. Krizių patirties refleksija leidžia konstruoti projekcijas ateityje kilsiančioms grėsmėms valdyti

Psichosocialinę negalią turinčių asmenų deinstitucionalizacija iš ekologinės sistemų teorijos perspektyvos

The deinstitutionalization of social care in Lithuania started in 2012 after the adoption of the strategic guidelines by the Ministry of Social Security and Labour. The goal of this reform was to improve the care conditions and introduce new community-based services for persons with disabilities. Almost ten years of the reform resulted in only five percent of persons with disabilities who moved to community settings, mainly group-living homes. The slow-motion of the reform, as well as the tensions in the communities, suggests the need for a thorough analysis of the process of deinstitutionalization and its improvement. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory is applied as a conceptual and methodological tool for understanding the roles of deinstitutionalization agents at different levels, including the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, municipalities, non-governmental organizations, social care institutions, and local communities. All of these agents are involved and diversely interact among themselves during the transformation process of the social care system. The ecological theory provides the necessary integrated approach to the analysis of the process of deinstitutionalization of the social care system at the micro-, meso-, exo-, and macro levels. Deinstitutionalization and the trajectories of its participants reveal resilient connections with different fields of the ecological system and show that different system components not only represent different systems but become microsystems themselves that affect all elements in the ecological system. The complexity of environmental systems constitutes the basis of ecological systems theory. It serves as a lens to guide the analysis of the transformation of a particular person’s life in the context of deinstitutionalization. Herewith, it is an appropriate tool for understanding the impact of deinstitutionalization on specific local communities.Pasitelkiant Bronfenbrennerio ekologinės sistemų teorijos mikro-, egzo-, mezo-, makro- chronolaukus straipsnyje analizuojami skirtingiems lygmenims atstovaujančių deinstitucionalizacijos dalyvių (Socialinės apsaugos ir darbo ministerijos, savivaldybių, nevyriausybinių organizacijų, socialinės globos institucijų ir vietos bendruomenių) vaidmenys socialinės globos sistemos pertvarkos procese ir jų sąveikos ypatumai. Ši teorija suteikia sisteminę prieigą socialinės globos sistemos deinstitucionalizacijos analizei: deinstitucionalizacijos ir joje veikiančių dalyvių veikimo trajektorijos atskleidžia kuriamas sąsajas su skirtingais ekologinės sistemos laukais ir parodo, kad skirtingos sistemos sudedamosios dalys ne tik atstovauja skirtingoms sistemoms, bet ir pačios tampa mikrosistemomis, kurios daro įtaką visoms ekologinės sistemos grandims

Still waters run deep: The invisible life of working mothers with disabilities in Lithuania

This article explores the challenges faced by women with disabilities in combining the roles of ‘mother’ and ‘worker’ in Lithuania and reflects on the strategies mothers employed to overcome these. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with twenty women with a variety of (dis)abling conditions and diverse life experiences between 2014 and 2018. In-depth thematic analysis by qualitative research teams revealed a constant tension in women’s aspirations to have a family and work. This revealed women’s enormous personal resources which facilitated them to overcome challenges they faced in motherhood as well as seemingly insurmountable obstacles to employment. However, within the vicious circle of social and economic challenges, they fought their battles with silent compliance, which hid their experiences and potentially denied them opportunities for support. This research reveals a policy response in Lithuania that categorises disability as an individual issue to be overcome rather than a socially constructed experience. The findings indicate the need for reframing understanding at macro, as well as micro-level policy interventions. At the micro-level, sensitive forms of professional support would help mothers with disabilities to choose more pronounced strategies of coping while also maintaining their dignity and privacy. These findings provide insights into the specific situation of women in Lithuania but are also relevant to many other contexts