True community integration is much more than placing an individual with a disability in a community setting ... it also means belonging and being in close friendships with other community members without disabilities. Now, this perceptive book gleans principles from successful experiences to help others build relationships of their own through natural social connections. The authors of this heartening guide to relationships and community connections combine the wisdom gained from their varied backgrounds in advocacy, service provision, parenting, and research to explore how friendships can enhance the lives of every individual in the community. Each author considers a different facet of friendship, such as: work and leisure relationship; gender-related expectations; community associations and groups; the roles of love, affection, and intimacy.

Volume 31 of the International Review of Research in Mental Retardation is a thematic exploration of personality and motivation in persons with mental retardation. Looking at a broad spectrum of intellectual disabilities, Mental Retardation, Personality, and Motivational Systems explores motivation as a moderator for performance and individualized effort. Coverage includes discussions of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in both mentally retarded and non-retarded children, self-determination, interpersonal decision making in adolescents and adults with mental retardation, interpersonal relationships, and the connection between etiological-specific differences and motivation to form "behavioral phenotypes." A final chapter presents a transactional perspective on human ability, relying on constructs of intelligence, cognitive processes, and motivation, with implications for developmental interventions in the lives of persons with mental retardation. - Explores personality and motivation in persons with mental retardation - Discusses intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in both mentally retarded and non-retarded children - A useful reference for researchers and scholars in developmental and cognitive psychology, as well as neuropsychology

Assesses the needs and lives of the first generation of people with developmental disabilities who have survived into later life. Describes the challenges facing practitioners in gerontology and developmental disabilities to modify programs designed for mid-life adults, and notes that senior services will need to incorporate the needs of the new po

Nearly twenty percent of adolescents have developmental disabilities, yet far too often they are marginalized within churches. Amplifying Our Witness challenges congregations to adopt a new, practice-centered approach to congregational ministry -- one that includes and amplifies the witness of adolescents with developmental disabilities. Replete with stories taken from Benjamin Conner's own extensive experience with befriending and discipling adolescents with developmental disabilities, Amplifying Our Witness Shows how churches exclude the mentally disabled in various structural and even theological ways Stresses the intrinsic value of kids with developmental disabilities Reconceptualizes evangelism to adolescents with developmental disabilities, emphasizing hospitality and friendship.

'Adult Lives' is a diverse collection of readings from all stages of life which aim to understand how those living and working together in an ageing society relate to each other. It uses a holistic approach to understanding ageing in adulthood that is applicable to all, including those developing policy and in practice.

This book encompasses a wide range of perspectives on childhood impairment and its social implications. The book adopts a child-centred approach, stressing the importance of communicating with disabled children, and includes pieces of writing by young disabled people. Preschool and school age children describe their behavior and feelings within their own families, substitute families, and residential homes. The book explores how such children can best be protected, and how their quality of life can be improved. Using the social model of disability which identifies the material and social barriers to inclusion, contributors give examples of progressive practice, and examine the aspirations of young disabled people, their friendships, and how they come to terms with adolescence and the transition to adulthood.