A Textured Life: Empowerment and Adults with Developmental Disabilities

Ian W. Toal is a registered nurse in Barrie, Ontario.

A Textured Life is the result of a research project designed to measure
how changes to social services in Canada have affected the lives of
developmentally disabled individuals. As the authors point out, whereas
30 years ago most of these individuals lived in large institutions,
today most live in the community. The authors set out to determine the
results of the deinstitutionalization: were developmentally disabled
people “accepted as members of the community with valued roles to
play?” The authors surveyed 1336 service providers across Canada and
interviewed clients, care providers, and family from 10 of the service
providers about such issues as family and home life, work, leisure, and
relationships.

The authors state they were motivated by the belief that success of
social policy is best measured by the impact it has “on the
empowerment of everyone affected by it, and it tendency to bring these
people together into relations of community.” Empowerment is more than
simply freedom of choice. Similarly, “community” is more than just a
physical place and should reflect such values as acceptance of, and
respect for, individuals. After drawing conclusions from their data, the
authors make recommendations concerning the direction of Canadian social
policy.

Although A Textured Life is lucidly written, it examines complex
concepts and ideas that will be of particular interest to people who are
directly involved in the lives of adults with developmental
disabilities. However, since the book presents the voices of people
rarely heard in our society, it will also appeal to readers interested
in general social philosophy.