Gyeonggi-do Conducts Survey on 1,500 Severely Disabled People with Developmental Disorders

Gyeonggi Provincial Government Gwanggyo New Office Building

Gyeonggi Province will conduct a care status survey for 1,500 'most severe developmental disabilities' individuals across 31 cities and counties from May to October, the first of its kind nationwide.

Gyeonggi Province plans to establish a 'Gyeonggi-type severe care system' by identifying the characteristics and care conditions of the most severe developmental disabilities who require 24-hour care due to significant limitations in daily life and communication compared to other developmental disabilities.

On the 17th, the province signed a consignment agreement with the Gyeonggi Welfare Foundation for the '24-hour Care Status Survey for the Most Severe Developmental Disabilities' and secured the survey list from cities and counties by April.

The survey and report preparation are scheduled to be completed from May to October.

The most severe developmental disabilities currently lack a separately agreed-upon definition even in academia and the field, making it urgent to understand their status and develop separate support measures.

The province tentatively defines this group as individuals among developmental disabilities, which collectively refer to intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders, who refuse facility use due to challenging behaviors such as self-harm or harm to others, or who have extreme developmental difficulties in communication and daily life.

Through this survey, the province will identify ▲ the scale of the most severe developmental disabilities in Gyeonggi Province ▲ general characteristics of the most severe developmental disabilities and their caregivers ▲ disability and health status ▲ current care and family support ▲ welfare service usage ▲ and care conditions during nights and weekends.

To accurately confirm the care status of the most severe developmental disabilities, the province will conduct the survey across all cities and counties, categorizing the population and sample sizes into urban, urban-rural complex, and rural types. Subsequently, additional surveys will include focus group interviews (FGI) with some families of the most severe developmental disabilities, and an expert advisory group on disabilities will be formed to hold consultation meetings.

Based on the survey results, the province plans to establish a 'Gyeonggi-type severe care system' centered on 24-hour care.

Earlier, on the 20th, Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon presented the 'Gyeonggi-type severe care system' as a representative policy of 'social care,' one of the three directions of Gyeonggi Province's disability policy, at the Gyeonggi Province Disability Day ceremony.

Meanwhile, as of the end of last year, there were 58,732 developmental disabilities in the province, accounting for 22.3% of the nationwide total of 263,311. The number of developmental disabilities in the province has been increasing by about 2,000 annually, with 52,166 in 2019, 54,170 in 2020, and 56,450 in 2021.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.