As young people move towards adulthood, they will become more mature and start to think of many aspects in their life including social activities, friendships and relationships. Their involvement in these activities is predominantly vital, not only as part of growing up, but also as part of mental and emotional well-being developments. In general, leisure is defined as a free-time activity chosen so as to provide enjoyment,
which constitutes four elements, namely, a notion of non-obligated time, activity or interest, choice, and relaxation or pleasure (Cavet, 1999). According to Cavet (1999), leisure involvement can reduce the sense of isolation, encourage a positive self-image and develop community contacts. Indeed, a leisure pursuit could potentially provide a more fulfilling learning medium rather than employment, which has not always been a realistic option for people with learning disabilities (Jenkins, 2002). However, research suggests that many young people with disabilities have less involvement or chances for leisure activities in comparison to their non-disabled peers (Cavet, 1999; Flynn & Hirst, 1992; Hirst & Baldwin, 1994; Morris, 1999).
The lack of involvement of young people with disabilities in leisure activities could be due to various factors. This could well be the lack of ‘disabled-friendly’ facilities on public premises where most of the leisure activities take place such as parks, cinemas, shopping or sports centres, transportation issues as well as being restricted by parents, particularly due to safety reasons. Cavet (1999) argues that one of the major barriers to active leisure participation is due to unemployment. The argument is that unemployed people tend to have less active leisure participation than those in employment. This is seen as reasonable as participation in employment could also encourage the young people to make more contacts and thus they will be more likely to make more friends and actively participate in leisure activities outside the home. In addition, the lack of transport and inadequate access to support were also found to be key barriers to the leisure involvement of the young people (Morris, 1999). Heslop, et al. (2002) found that 53% of parents of young people with disabilities said that the topics of leisure and social activities were not covered during transition planning when they were still at school even though many families really wanted more information about this topic for their children, but less than half were able to get it. What is important in relation to this
particular subject is that not only is comprehensive knowledge needed by the parents as well as the young people themselves, the agencies that provide the information also need to make sure that it is consistent and up-to-date. Among the activities that are most popular are listening to music, following their favourite groups, going to special youth clubs, swimming, etc. However, some of these activities have an age restriction (see Heslop, et al., 2002), which is why the terms and conditions of such activities need to be updated from time to time so that they will not feel disappointed later on if they are no longer able to join in due to age restrictions.
Another aspect that is deemed significant and worth covering in the transition planning is the issue of friendships and relationships. According to Brackenridge and McKenzie (2005), friendships not only provide non-judgemental warmth and understanding, but also allow the development and confirmation of self-identity as well as raising and sustaining self-esteem. In fact, achieving meaningful relationships has been part of the main agenda explicitly stated in The Same As You? (Scottish Executive, 2000) and
Valuing People (Department of Health, 2001). Brackenridge and McKenzie (2005)
investigate the popular and unpopular factors that are important in the friendships of people with a learning disability. The findings reveal that being confident, having a good sense of humour, being mentioned frequently, good verbal and non-verbal skills, ability to pick up on emotions and good social skills are the most popular factors, whilst the reverse of them emerged as the unpopular factors. Nevertheless, people with learning disabilities generally have fewer friends, more limited social networks and fewer friendship-related activities than their non-disabled peers (Garvey & Kroese, 1991; Knox & Hickson, 2001; McKenzie, 2010; Zetlin & Murtaugh, 1988). Evidence strongly suggests that a large number of people with learning disabilities do not get involved in a range of satisfying social relationships; instead they experience loneliness,
isolation and many lead impoverished lives (Chappell, 1994). In addition, Morris (2002) noted that someone with no friends is unlikely to have much self-esteem either. This aspect is particularly essential as it might have a big impact on the young person’s personal and social development. Evidence suggests that a lack of meaningful friendships would lead to deterioration in the person’s overall quality of life (Brackenridge & McKenzie, 2005). Richardson and Ritchie (1990) identify several factors that could be barriers to the formation of friendships. These include the lack of opportunities to meet new people, large group-based environments for social activities, a lack of self-confidence as well as lack of freedom to choose their own friends. In addition, they also state that parents sometimes seem to let their son or daughter become quite isolated from any activities outside of the family, which could also be a barrier to the formation of friendships. In my view, this could be due to safety or the protection factor, rather than stopping their son or daughter from socialising with other people. However, as the young people grow older and become more mature, this issue is inevitable. My view would be that parents need to be more open and flexible to the issue of the friendships and relationships of their son or daughter. In fact, this relationship is far more important, as it may lead to a further connection, including issues such as sexuality and marriage. It should be noted that disabled young people will have the same sexual feelings and rights as other people of their age (Douglas, Wood, & Sim, 2010; Morris, 2002). However, some of the parents were concerned and did not know how to handle the sexuality issue (O'Connell, Bailey, & Pearce, 2003) and needed someone else to talk about this especially to their children. In addition, evidence also suggests that increased vulnerability to sexual abuse of the young people was also a reason why parents restricted their access to sexual information and services, as they fear it may exacerbate this vulnerability (Douglas et al., 2010). It seems that the role of other professionals, particularly the support worker in handling this issue is vital.