Search results for ‘Subject term:"learning disabilities"’ Sort:
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Architects of reform
- Author:
- KAEHNE Axel
- Journal article citation:
- Learning Disability Today, 9(5), July 2009, pp.34-36.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
Highlights the key themes from a series of research papers delivered at a round table summit involving academics and practitioners from the US, UK, Netherlands, Germany and Australia looking at what really improves lives for people with learning disabilities.
Using discrete choice experiments to elicit the service preferences of people with mild intellectual disability: an exploratory study
- Authors:
- HUTCHINSON Claire, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 30(4), 2022, pp.e1396-e1405.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in Australia and other similar international movements towards consumer direction have highlighted the importance of including consumers to ensure their service preferences are operationalised. Discrete Choice Experiments (DCEs) are an established method to quantify consumer preferences. The feasibility of using DCEs with people with intellectual disability is largely untested. Consenting participants eligible for disability support services (n = 18) participated in the mixed methods exploratory study. The DCE comprised a series of choices between two hypothetical service providers offering a combination of services relating to social and economic participation (e.g. support with finding and keeping a job), with four levels of service (no service, online support, group support, one to one support). Pictographs and simplified English were used to represent the hypothetical services and levels and a 'think aloud' protocol adopted. Most participants (N = 16, 89%) completed the DCE task. The findings from the think aloud task indicated that some participants were weighing up the options and making decisions based on their goals and personal preferences. However, other participants did not focus on all presented attributes and levels when making a decision; a common 'short-cut' heuristic also observed in DCE tasks with general population participants. Further research including investigating other DCE techniques, such as best-worst scaling, would be beneficial to identify how preference-elicitation tasks can be developed and applied with people with intellectual disabilities to ensure that future service innovations are designed and administered in ways which best meet their needs and preferences. (Edited publisher abstract)
Futures of adults with intellectual disability: staff expectations
- Authors:
- CUSKELLY Monica, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 46(4), 2021, pp.319-328.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Background: The study reported here investigated the views of staff who worked with adults with intellectual disability regarding the likely future of such adults. Method: Staff were provided with a short vignette portraying an adult with intellectual disability and asked to describe that individual’s future in five years and then to indicate the likelihood of the individual’s participation in aspects of adult life reflecting life as typically experienced by age peers in the general population. Results: Responses suggested that staff did not expect the adults with intellectual disability to have the same experiences as their peers, although responses to direct questions about participation were more positive than those to the vignette. Conclusions: While choice was seen to be an important determinant of future activity by some staff, others did not see the individual with intellectual disability having a great deal of agency in determining the direction of their life. (Edited publisher abstract)
Dedifferentiation and people with intellectual disabilities in the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme: bringing research, politics and policy together
- Author:
- BIGBY Christine
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 45(4), 2020, pp.309-319.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Background: Dedifferentiated policy treats adults with intellectual disabilities as part of the larger group of people with disabilities. The implications of the dedifferentiated National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for adults with intellectual disabilities are explored. Methods: Analysis of peer reviewed and grey literature between 2014 and 2020 about design of the NDIS and outcomes. Results: Many participants experienced problems with NDIS implementation. Outcomes for adults with intellectual disabilities compared poorly to other groups. They were disadvantaged by standardised planning processes relying on self-expressed needs and omission of supported decision making. As the NDIS matures, it is becoming more differentiated but issues relevant to adults with intellectual disability remain largely invisible. Conclusions: Further shifts towards standardised planning and functional assessment may be disadvantageous for adults with intellectual disabilities for whom support needs are dependent on social and contextual factors, and exercise of choice on support for decision making. (Edited publisher abstract)
“Where’s the human dignity in that?”: LGBTQIA + people with intellectual disability exploring sexual lives and respectful relationships
- Authors:
- MARKS Genee, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services, 32(3), 2020, pp.354-376.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
For people with disabilities, sexuality remains a contested and restricted space. This research investigated how the Sexual Lives & Respectful Relationships (SL&RR) program might be adapted for people with intellectual disabilities who identify as LGBTQIA+. The program included co-developed materials and specifically curated narratives. It was received positively. The facilitators identifying as members of the LGBTQIA+ community was also reported as positive. While an inclusive program might be ideal, participants expressed the view that community attitudes (including those of other people with intellectual disability) might not yet be conducive to integrated human relationships programs. (Publisher abstract)
Parents with intellectual disabilities and their perspective of peer support: “It depends on how they give it”
- Authors:
- STRNADOVA Iva, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 32(4), 2019, pp.879-889.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Background: Parents with intellectual disabilities face particular challenges, such as lack of sufficient support with their parenting. Peers can be an important source of support for parents in the general population; however, there is a limited knowledge about peer support for parents with intellectual disabilities. The aim of this study was to explore experiences of parents with intellectual disabilities with social support with a focus on the role of peers. Method: Twenty‐six parents with intellectual disabilities in New South Wales, Australia, took part in a semi‐structured interview. Results: The inductive content analysis of data revealed three main themes; this article reports on one of them - Developing interdependence. Conclusions: The source of support was less important than the way support was offered. Parents valued support offered by someone who respected them as a person and parent, and was interested in what they wanted and needed. (Edited publisher abstract)
Examples of individual supported living for adults with intellectual disability
- Authors:
- COCKS Errol, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 20(2), 2016, pp.100-108.
- Publisher:
- Sage
- Place of publication:
- London
Background: This article provides a qualitative account of four models of support for adults with intellectual disability in individual supported living (ISL) arrangements. Materials and Methods: Completion of the first 50 evaluations of 150 arrangements for the third phase of the ISL project provided the examples. Results: Four approaches are described: living alone, co-residency, relationship and host family. Within each type, wide variations occur particularly based on security of tenure, formal and informal support and management variations. Conclusion: Fifty evaluations so far illustrated a wide range of approaches to ISL, providing evidence of the critical importance of the formal and informal support environment and reinforcing the contention that ISL is appropriate for people with high support needs. (Publisher abstract)
The identities and social roles of people with an intellectual disability: challenging dominant cultural worldviews, values and mythologies
- Authors:
- DOROZENKO Kate P., ROBERTS Lynne D., BISHOP Brian J.
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 30(9), 2015, pp.1345-1364.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Intellectual disability is commonly conceptualised as stigmatised identity with which one has to live. However, within the literature the notion of a damaged identity is contested. The aim of this research was to explore the social construction of intellectual disability, with an emphasis on the identities and social roles of people with an intellectual disability. Informed by a contextualist perspective, this research was conducted within a participatory framework. The co-researchers involved in this research were 18 members of an advocacy agency. Photovoice and conversational interviewing were used to collect data and causal layered analysis was used to deconstruct the data. Analysis of the interactions that emerged across the causal layers revealed a complex dynamic of worldviews which served to construct people with an intellectual disability as incompetent, inherently different and not quite human. For genuine, transformative change to occur, developing an awareness and understanding of social processes, such as dehumanisation, is crucial. (Publisher abstract)
I-CAN: the classification and prediction of support needs
- Authors:
- ARNOLD Samuel R.C., RICHES Vivienne Catherine, STANCLIFFE Roger J.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 27(2), 2014, pp.97-111.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Background: Since 1992, the diagnosis and classification of intellectual disability has been dependent upon three constructs: intelligence, adaptive behaviour and support needs (Luckasson et al. 1992. Mental Retardation: Definition, Classification and Systems of Support. American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Washington, DC). While the methods and instruments to measure intelligence and adaptive behaviour are well established and generally accepted, the measurement and classification of support needs is still in its infancy. This article explores the measurement and classification of support needs. Method: A study is presented comparing scores on the ICF (WHO, 2001) based I-CAN v4.2 support needs assessment and planning tool with expert clinical judgment using a proposed classification of support needs. A logical classification algorithm was developed and validated on a separate sample. Results: Good internal consistency (range 0.73–0.91, N = 186) and criterion validity (κ = 0.94, n = 49) were found. Conclusions: Further advances in our understanding and measurement of support needs could change the way disability is assessed, described and classified. (Edited publisher abstract)
Participatory data analysis alongside co-researchers who have Down Syndrome
- Author:
- STEVENSON Miriam
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 27(1), 2013, pp.23-33.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
There are not many research projects which include people with an intellectual disability in data analysis. This paper tells the story of how a small group of people with Down syndrome called co-researchers, joined in analysing data from their peers in a research project. The ‘Voices for Change’ study took place between 2007 and 2011 and the project sought to assist the young people in achieving their life goals and greater social connection using a ‘circles of support’ model. A university based researcher analysed a portion of the data set using thematic networks with the participation of co-researchers in iterative cycles of reflexivity. The participation of the co-researchers is demonstrated and a global theme, deduced from the collaborative analysis, is described. Authentic participation of co-researchers in the data analysis stage of the research process is an example of ‘inclusive research’ and assures adherence to the principles of EDR in informing the theory and practice of social inclusion for young adults with an intellectual disability. (Edited publisher abstract)