The article problematizes the way late modern society has contributed to discursive tensions in the welfare state services for people with intellectual disabilities in Sweden. We illustrate how disability practices, such as educational systems and work-life arrangements for people with intellectual disabilities, are characterized by an institutional ambiguity following the institutional logic of the welfare state. By relating to a broader societal perspective, it is argued that the choices of lifestyle among young people with intellectual disabilities are closely linked to the notion of late modern society and its demands for flexibility and constant re-creation of identities. This paradox highlights a challenge for special programme schools as well as disability care organizations, since the dual identity of belonging to both the client category and to an identity constructed through belonging to the civil society characterizes the young generation of persons with ID.