Search results for ‘Subject term:"learning disabilities"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 7 of 7
Making life work: freedom and disability in a community group home
- Author:
- LEVINSON Jack
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- Publication year:
- 2010
- Pagination:
- 304p.
- Place of publication:
- Minneapolis, MN
This ethnography is based on more than a year of research in a New York City group home for adults with intellectual disabilities. Group homes emerged in the US in the 1970s as a solution to the failure of large institutions. However critics claim that community services have not, for the most part, delivered on the promises of rights, self-determination, and integration and portray group homes simply as settings of social control. The author shows how group homes need the knowledgeable and voluntary participation of residents and counsellors alike. For the counsellors it is their workplace but for residents group home work involves working to become more autonomous. It is suggested that rather than being seen as the antithesis of freedom, the group home must be understood as demonstrating the fundamental dilemmas between authority and the individual that are seen more broadly in contemporary liberal societies. Drawing on his experience as a group home counsellor, the author demonstrates that a group home depends on the very capacities for independence and individuality it aims to cultivate in its residents. Chapters include: an introduction to disability in the context of the community and everyday life; how the group home works; group home technologies including administration and plans; and managing risk. The book concludes with a chapter entitled “Making Life Work”.
Predictors of job satisfaction among staff in residential settings for persons with intellectual disabilities: a comparison between three residential models
- Authors:
- CHOU Yueh-Ching, KROGER Teppo, LEE Yue-Chune
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 23(3), May 2010, pp.279-289.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This cross-sectional study in Taiwan aimed to assess whether there are differences in staff job satisfaction between 3 residential models for adults with intellectual disabilities, and to investigate the organisational and individual variables associated with staff job satisfaction. The 3 models of residential settings investigated were: small residential home; group home; and institution. A total of 1301 study participants were recruited from 77 settings (25 small residential homes, 33 group homes, and 19 institutions). The participants completed a standardised self-administered questionnaire (Job Satisfaction Survey) together with demographic questions. The results found that staff working at small homes had a significantly higher level of job satisfaction than staff from the other 2 models. Logistic regression revealed that the characteristics of the organisations at which they were employed rather than the staff's individual characteristics were strongly associated with job satisfaction. This study suggests that the residential model and the provider sector of the residential setting are factors of concern when ensuring staff job satisfaction.
Group homes for people with intellectual disabilities: encouraging inclusion and participation
- Authors:
- CLEMENT Tim, BIGBY Christine
- Publisher:
- Jessica Kingsley
- Publication year:
- 2010
- Pagination:
- 285p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
Group homes are the dominant form of residential accommodation for people with severe learning or intellectual disabilities. The authors suggest that while well-managed group homes can realise good outcomes for residents, many settings are underperforming. “Group home” has become a generic term but here the authors “rescue” it and define it as accommodation for between four and six people where extensive or pervasive paid staff support is provided to the residents, both in the home and when leaving it to use community based settings. This book seeks to highlight the key issues for both residents and staff, and offers practical suggestions for improving community living. Based on original empirical research and drawing on extensive field notes, it paints a picture of life in group homes today. The authors propose a framework for increasing community presence and participation, and consider the barriers to be overcome if progress is to be made in achieving these key goals. The notion of 'homeliness', the challenge of maintaining a balance between individual and group needs and the concept of practice leadership are all explored.
Staff responses to age-related health changes in people with an intellectual disability in group homes
- Authors:
- WEBBER Ruth, BOWERS Barbara, MCKENZIE-GREEN Barbara
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 25(6), October 2010, pp.657-671.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The purpose of this study was to explore how supervisors in group homes caring for people with intellectual disability responded to the development of age-related health changes in their residents. It examined how staff in Victoria, Australia, viewed age-related changes, how they decided when a resident should go to residential aged care, and how they supported people who stayed despite significant age-related health problems. Information from in-depth interviews with 10 group home supervisors working in the disability sector was analysed using dimensional analysis. The article discusses factors related to care including resident health characteristics, resources, skills and comfort level of supervisors, ability to navigate health and disability sector rules and regulations, and concern about impact on other residents. The findings from the study suggested that group home supervisors are the primary decision-makers about whether residents can remain in the group home or will be relocated to residential aged care, and that although supervisors consistently expressed the belief that, at some point, residents with serious health conditions may require more intensive or skilled care, there was less consistency in their views about the criteria determining when a resident can no longer be accommodated in the home.
Placement, relocation and end of life issues in aging adults with and without Down's syndrome: a retrospective study
- Authors:
- PATTI P., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 54(6), June 2010, pp.538-546.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
It is suggested that aging adults with Down's syndrome (DS) experience more relocations and other life events than adults with intellectual disabilities aged 50 and older without DS. Age-related functional decline and the higher incidence of dementia have been implicated as factors leading to relocation and nursing home placement. This retrospective study of adults with intellectual disabilities born prior to 1946 living in New York State was conducted to estimate the number of relocations experienced over a 5- and 10-year period. The cohort consisted of 140 individuals (61 with DS between ages 50–71 years, and 79 without DS between ages 57–89 years) who had been referred to a diagnostic and research clinic. The number of relocations over the period was significantly greater in the DS group. Placement in a nursing home for end of life care was also significantly higher in the DS group whereas the 90% of the non-DS group remained in a group home setting. Death came significantly earlier in the DS group; mean age at death 61.4 years compared with 73.2 years in the non-DS group. The authors conclude that aging adults with DS encounter more relocations, and are more likely to spend their final placement for end of life care in a nursing home.
Hospital experiences of older people with intellectual disability: responses of group home staff and family members
- Authors:
- WEBBER Ruth, BOWERS Barbara, BIGBY Christine
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 35(3), September 2010, pp.155-164.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
A subset of data from a longitudinal study was used to examine perspectives of group home staff and family members concerning hospital experiences of group home residents with intellectual disabilities, including the strategies they used to support residents while in hospital. Focus was on 17 residents, aged 49 to 81 years at first interview, living in group homes in Victoria, who were tracked prospectively over 3 years. A total of 17 family members, 16 house supervisors, 11 accommodation program managers, and 11 staff in aged care facilities were interviewed. Twelve residents had been hospitalised at least once during the study and all had been hospitalised within the last 5 years. Staff and family reported poor support and treatment of the residents while in hospital. All positive experiences occurred in hospitals that had clear policies, resources and systems in place to address the special needs of people with an intellectual disability. Several strategies were used by staff and family members to improve the hospital experience. These included spending as much time as possible in the hospital; preparing information packages to prepare the resident for the hospital stay; attempting to partner with hospital staff; and taking on an advocacy role. Ageing of the family members and staffing implications for group homes complicated efforts to improve hospital experiences. The authors conclude that the current absence of systems to accommodate the special needs of people with intellectual disability in hospital settings has significant consequences for group homes, family members, hospital staff and residents.
Social work practice and intellectual disability
- Authors:
- BIGBY Christine, FRAWLEY Patsie
- Publisher:
- Palgrave Macmillan
- Publication year:
- 2010
- Pagination:
- 238p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Basingstoke
Provides an understanding of the knowledge, values and skills required for effective practice in the field of learning disability and the opportunity for multidisciplinary collaboration for social change. The book focuses on adults with learning disabilities and their families. Topics include: the changing definitions of learning disability; theory and practice of working with adults with learning disabilities and their families; assessment, planning, monitoring and review; social inclusion and participation. Includes numerous case studies and discussion points.