‘We're Not Really Into Helping, We're Into Being Useful’: Service Provider Practices That Support Belonging Opportunities in the Lives of Adults Labelled With Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

Background: Social inclusion focussed on belonging is increasingly emphasised by disability advocates and policymakers, yet belonging often remains absent for adults labelled with intellectual disabilities. People labelled with intellectual disabilities often rely on service providers to support their belonging. Methods: In this critically informed ethnographic work, we draw on interviews with nine disability services leaders and prolonged participatory field explorations with five adults labelled with intellectual disabilities, their friends and support workers to explore how service providers support opportunities for belonging. Results: Reflexive thematic analysis generated three themes: centering inclusion, belonging and rights; creating opportunities for self-exploration and ‘dreaming’; and facilitating connections to people and place. Conclusions: Findings highlight supporting belonging as complex work that requires a relational understanding of autonomy, work environments that support reflexivity, and the redistribution of resources to allow for higher staff wages, larger individual support contracts and funding for staff training and post-secondary education.