The Limits of Autonomy: Ideals in Care for People with Learning Disabilities

In the Netherlands, autonomy is a key ideal in visions of care for people with learning disability. This ideal can lead to tension when clients, in the opinion of their caregivers, overuse alcohol or drugs. In this article, we analyze how professional caregivers understand the ideal of autonomy in care for people with learning disability, and articulate the tacit attempts of caregivers to provide good care, which can be understood as care for relationships. This relational view includes caregivers, care recipients, and their networks and infrastructures in the vision of care