Executive Summary Young people should all have the chance to pursue lives of their choosing – lives that are rich with opportunities to learn, work, connect with others and engage in the community. This should not be different for young people with intellectual disability. Yet these young people face barriers to accessing the support, services and experiences they deserve, driving inequities in health, education, social and economic participation outcomes. This report explores the experiences of young people with intellectual disability, focusing on those with more significant support needs. It presents various life journeys of young people from across Australia, identifies system gaps that are driving challenging experiences and opens a conversation about what is required to improve outcomes for them. Across our study, we identified six themes as key influences on the experiences of young people with intellectual disability. These themes represent a mix of systems, behaviours and drivers that collectively shape the make-up and quality of life of a young person with intellectual disability. The report also includes perspectives on priority actions to drive better outcomes and deliver meaningful improvements to the lives of these young people. These actions build on the collective knowledge, learnings and existing efforts from across the sector. We hope that the included stories, insights and observations provide a foundation for the design of flexible service systems that recognise the uniqueness and diversity of this cohort and drive better outcomes for all.
2 | Reaching Potential
Insights into action
Theme 1: Rich and diverse aspirations Supporting young people to realise their aspirations is an enduring aim for carers and families and needs to represent a central focus of the service system. However, we found young people with intellectual disability are not always appropriately engaged in goal setting, which leads to missing links between potential supports and their aspirations. Barriers to communication and self-advocacy can lead to tensions and exclude them from conversations about their aspirations and goals, particularly with decisions that impact on their ability to achieve them. While there is recognition that goal-orientated services are critical in establishing a quality of life, there is little agreement or clarity on what this looks like for supporters and young people alike. A focus and set of efforts is required to ensure young people are given real opportunities to meaningfully participate in goal setting. To do this, young people need to be provided with the information and supports required to appropriately engage with and contribute to conversations on their goals.
