Aim
For persons with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD), number and frequency of non-professional social contacts is very limited, including contact with peers with PIMD. We believe belonging has to start within the small community of the living environment of a person with PIMD, and that especially contact between persons with PIMD should be enabled and stimulated. As people with PIMD need support in every aspect of their daily living, this also applies for enabling personal relationships between them. This is also related to the literal position a person, being confined to a wheelchair and unable to move himself, captures in the room.
Method
Fifty people with PIMD (N=50) from different settings participated. To observe and analyze interactions between peers, interactions are related to position: the actual placement of a person in the room. Extension, frequency and content of observable interactions are analyzed using the coding scheme of Nijs.
Results
Preliminary results show that people with PIMD are placed in the same position for most of the day, meaning that they are limited in making contact with their peers, and without being given the ability to interact with peers that they favor.
Conclusion
Direct support staff becomes aware of the importance of social peer-relationships and the role of position in the process.