By Patricia Noonan Walsh, Ph.D., & Barbara LeRoy, Ph.D.

What do women with developmental disabilities experience as they age — and what can service providers and researchers learn from their stories?

That question is the focus of this exceptional book, which weaves informative research with the oral histories of more than 160 women in eighteen countries. Emphasizing that disability is not a disease, the authors use their research and the personal stories they collected to explore contributing factors to healthy aging and suggest how professionals can help women with disabilities live lives of dignity, respect, and community participation. Readers will review illuminating statistics and discover how women with disabilities around the world manage the everyday issues they face, including

• economic factors such as securing employment, gaining economic control, and financing living arrangements
  
  
• personal issues such as grooming, mobility, and support systems
  
  
• health and nutrition
  
  
• recreation
  
  
• relationships with family members and friends
  
  
• overall well being and quality of life
  
  
• disability policies and programs that influence all these factors
  

With this expertly stitched quilt of common themes and experiences, readers will have the cross-cultural perspective and research-based facts they need to help ensure healthy aging for women with disabilities and guide future research and policy.

About the Authors
About the Collaborators
Foreword
Matthew Janicki
Acknowledgments

1. Introduction
   
   
2. Successful Aging: An International Perspective
   
   
3. Collecting Information and Stories
   
   
4. Economic and Personal Safety Nets
   
   
5. Health
   
   
6. Social Roles
   
   
7. A Sense of Well-Being
   
   
8. Aging Well: Policy, Practice and Research Implications
   

References
Appendix: Interview Protocol
Index