The Art of Caring for People with Intellectual Disabilities

For many people with an intellectual disability, the attitudes and behaviour of their carers is the key variable affecting their quality of life. The Art of Caring for People with Intellectual Disabilities considers how the optimal level of caring elevates a series of skills and techniques into something that feels, to an outsider, like an art form and provides a lasting, positive improvement to the life of the person they care for. Focusing on the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) concept of living in congruence with our own core values, the authorsseek to help carers analyse their own core values in relation to their role, and then to identify strategies that will help them live in line with these values. The book explores the multifaceted nature of the caring role- from carer to nurse to companion and beyond - and how to overcome the range of challenges involved in caring for people with intellectual disabilities using the concept of ACT to enhance the wellbeing of both carers themselves, and those they care for.