This paper explores the housing conditions of people with intellectual disabilities (PWID). Within the context of the traditional Japanese welfare system, many PWID live in their parental homes under parental care or in institutions. So that PWID might live separately from their parents, the government has expanded group homes, subsidized rent, and dispatched caregivers for PWID. Nevertheless, the proportion of PWID living with their parents is higher than that of those with physical or psychical disabilities. This study focuses on the housing of PWID who live separately from or after the death of their parents through a questionnaire survey.
A questionnaire survey was administered to PWID living at home through the PWID parent associations. The questionnaire form used in this study included items that inquired about PWID’s age and degree of disability, their desire to live or not live with their parents, their reason for desiring to live with their parents, and where PWID desire to live in the future. The responses of 609 PWID were analyzed via a chi-square test. Respondents were classified as either “living with parents” or “living separately from parents”. The characteristics and the differences of these two types of housing conditions were defined based on the results of the questionnaire survey.
The differences between PWID living with their parents and PWID living separately were PWID’s age, degree of disability, and parental age. The respondents who live with their parents are younger than those who live separately. This applies to the parents, too. As PWID and their parents age, and furthermore, as their parents die, the PWID tend to live separately. Moreover, the respondents who live with their parents have a higher rate of severe intellectual disability than those who live separately. Many of the respondents who live with their parents live in houses owned by their parents.
Ninety percent of respondents who live with their parents have lived with them since birth. Respondents who have always lived with their parents are worried about living separately. Therefore, approximately 60 % of respondents who live with their parents would like to continue doing so in the future. On the other hand, only about 5% of PWID currently want to live separately from their parents, and about 30% of them want to live separately in the future.
Of the reasons given for living separately from their parents, approximately 40% of respondents listed “parental death and age (admission to a hospital)”. Eighty percent of the respondents living separately from their parents live in group homes. The reason that few PWID live somewhere other than group homes is the lack of housing options.
In order for PWID to live separately from their parents, it is necessary to secure housing. It is preferable to have such separation occur in advance rather than at the death of a parent. It is not easy to build many group homes. To this end, it is necessary to supply not only group homes, but also affordable and desirable location rented housing. In particular, PWID who live with elderly parents must hastily arrange housing. Thus, it is hoped that the current study can contribute to supplying housing for PWID.
