我國身心障礙者權益保障白皮書與勞委會促進身心障礙者就業中程計畫，皆強調中途障礙者相關服務推展的重要。民間單位近年來也紛紛發展以中途障礙者為對象的服務。然而，不論政府或民間部門，對中途障礙人口的描述，皆倚賴內政部關於障礙成因的統計，該統計由於分類概念無法完全互斥，因而對於中途障礙人口的描述，相當模糊。此外，政府、民間與相關文獻對中途障礙的概念莫衷一是，且相關研究缺乏，無法提供對於中途障礙者需求的具體描述。因此，政策與服務設計缺乏系統的需求分析，更遑論個別化與多元服務的提供。為釐清國內脈絡下中途障礙概念如何被界定，本研究探討服務提供者如何定義中途障礙概念，其實際服務經驗中，觀察到哪些中途障礙者及其家庭的需求。透過服務提供者的實務經驗整理，期待初步釐清定義中途障礙更細緻的思維面向。本研究採質性研究取向為主，以焦點團體方式蒐集資料，輔以開放式問卷調查。研究結果分二層面分析：障礙作為突發事件的衝擊，以及不同時間點發生障礙，對個體與家庭的影響。本研究根據研究發現，對未來人口統計、相關政策與實務推展方向，提出建議。

Two Taiwanese government documents, “Disabled People’s Rights Protection,” and “Mid-term Plan for Promoting Employment of Disabled People,” set goals for the development of services for people who “become disabled.” In recent years, non-government organizations also have developed programs targeting this group. However, because previous statistical analyses have employed ambiguous categorization, they provide very limited information about the needs of this group. There also is a lack of consensus on how to define “becoming disabled,” and studies of what factors influence it are rare. Thus, relevant policies and practices have not been based on systematic analyses of the needs of disabled people, and adequate provision of both individual and multiple services has therefore become an impossible dream. In this study, the participants drew upon their experiences of working with disabled people to establish what this groups’ needs are, and how “becoming disabled” should be defined. The main approach was qualitative. Focus group interview was the main data collection method, preceded by an open-ended social survey. Findings were analyzed from two dimensions: (1) disability as an unexpected life event and (2) the disability onset at different stages of life. This article proposes suggestions on policies and practices, items to be considered in a census survey, as well as further research.