Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Social Work (MSW)

Department

Social Work

Faculty/School

Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work

First Advisor

Not applicable

Advisor Role

Not applicable

Abstract

The Social Planning Council of Kitchener-Waterloo had appointed a committee to investigate the needs of the physically handicapped in Waterloo County. A detailed account of the evolution of this committee can be found in a paper by my classmates, Edward Mavor and Judy Rees-Thomas.

The sub-committee to which I will be referring throughout this paper is the sub-committee on the residential needs of the physically disabled. This sub-committee was formed as it was felt that there were too many facets to the problems facing the physically disabled to be handled easily by one committee. In order to organize most efficiently, the Executive Committee on Needs for the Disabled, of the Kitchener-Waterloo Social Planning Council, formed three sub-committees on recreational, vocational and residential needs. The sub-committee on residential needs is chained by Bruce Lumsden who himself sites on the Executive Committee.

To understand the progress of the sub-committee in the area of research, I again refer the reader to the paper of my classmates. They have outlined the topic area, and the formulation of both the research problem and hypothesis.

One further point needs clarification. This is a “Follow-Up Survey” to a more general study completed by Ronald Walsh in partial fulfillment of his Master’s degree in psychology. The original study involved a sample of 137 physically disabled persons of 275 who were sent by mail an invitation to assist in the research. The original study dealt with all areas of need; residential, vocational and recreational. The findings in the area of residential need were not considered adequate, by the sub-committee on residential need, to make any definite plans, as they were only of a preliminary nature. It is from this original survey that our 32 cases for intensive study, with regards to residential needs, were chosen.

In July of 1969, I received a telephone call from the Executive Secretary of the above-mentioned Executive Committee and agreed to assist the sub-committee in a test-run of their “Follow-Up Survey” during the month of August. As time went on, I was to become involved in the actual administration of the interview guide, and then in the collation and analyzing of the data, while acting in an advisory role to the sub-committee. These, then, are the topic areas which follow in this paper.

Convocation Year

1970

Convocation Season

Spring

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