Identity constructions and transition to adulthood for young people with mild intellectual disabilities

Abstract

This article explores the self-constructions of young adults with mild intellectual disabilities in talk about their everyday living and how parents and professionals construct young adults with disabilities in talk about their involvement in transition processes. The analysis is related to an interpretive tradition and conducted based on individual interviews with four young adults with mild intellectual disability, five parents of young adults with mild intellectual disabilities and five professionals in the adult service system. The findings show that the young adults define themselves as actors in their own lives, while the parents recognize young adults with mild intellectual disabilities as both actors with resources and actors in need of assistance. Professionals in the adult service system, however, appear to rely on an identity perspective that might hamper young adults’ agency positioning and opportunities to define themselves and influence their future lives.