Ageing
3. Friendship and socialisation
Photo: Jørn Grønlund
Good friends are important
to feel love for others.
Together with them
I have a joy inside myself
I spreading out to other people.
It is a pleasure, good to feel,
for me and for others(1:74).
Torill Heia has Down’s syndrome and she was 57 years old when she wrote the book 'Friends'(1). together with me, Britt-Evy Westergård. In her book, Torill says that friends are essential for her to keep her active: “The radius of movement is less now, than it was before. Friends with ID, at the same age as me, get dementia and die”. Torill claims that friendships with different kind people, is one of the most important things in her life, she says: “Friends are love”. Her 'voice' from the book and from later collaboration, is used as references to illustrate the value of friendship in this chapter, as well as how this affects the life situation to older adults with ID.
Most people will argue that good friends are important for quality of life. Surveys and experiences indicate that friendship is not necessarily valued as a source of mental and physical health for people with ID. Health issues are more frequent in literature about ageing and ID, despite surveys showing that good relationships and friendships have a major impact on health and well-being.
Photo: Jørn Grønlund
It is not always easy to build or maintain friendships. There are differences in the lives of people who are in need of daily help versus those who are more self-reliant. Being dependent on help from others involves interactions that can be challenging for the one who receives help and the one who provides it. The value of friendship is the same for all of us anyway.
In this chapter, you will learn more about the importance of friendship and socialisation for older adults with ID:
- Ageing and social isolation
- Different kind of friendship
- Build and maintain good friendship
- People similar to ourselves
- Friendship to enrich life and improve health