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Shifting responsibilities: the patterns of formal service use by older people with intellectual disability in Victoria
- Author:
- BIGBY Christine
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 23(3), September 1998, pp.229-243.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
As adults with intellectual disability age and inevitably lose support provided by parents, many will become more reliant on formal services. Potentially they can utilise both the aged care and the disability service systems, although neither have explicit policies in relation to this group. This qualitative study in Australia examined the patterns of service use by older people with intellectual disability.
Comparison of specialist and mainstream programs for older carers of adults with intellectual disability: considerations for service development
- Authors:
- BIGBY Christine, OZANNE Elizabeth
- Journal article citation:
- Australian Social Work, 57(3), September 2004, pp.273-287.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Older carers of adults with intellectual disabilities experience unique challenges. Outreach initiatives identify a high number who are unknown to support services and a case is made to proactively engage them to assist in future planning for their adult children. An earlier study by the authors suggested that, in Victoria, specialist case management programmes for older carers occupied a unique place within the service system. Discusses a study that further explored the functions of specialist programs for this group through a comparison with a mainstream disability case-management program. Few differences were found, although mainstream programs did not undertake outreach and community education functions. Models that build on the capacity of mainstream case management or carer support programs to work with older carers and target outreach more effectively are discussed.
Parental Substitutes? The role of siblings in the lives of older people with intellectual disability
- Author:
- BIGBY Christine
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 29(1), 1998, pp.3-21.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This Australian study examined the roles that siblings played in the lives of older people with intellectual disability and factors affecting this. Nearly half the sample had a sibling who acted as their primary carer after the death of the parents. However, in most cases this was not a permanent arrangement. In the long term a majority of older people did have a sibling who took responsibility for their well-being and played strong advocacy, mediator and supervisory roles. Fulfilment of such roles was associated with a lifelong close relationship between siblings.
Confidence of group home staff in supporting the health needs of older residents with intellectual disability
- Authors:
- WEBBER Ruth, BOWERS Barbara, BIGBY Christine
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 41(2), 2016, pp.107-114.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Background: Increased life expectancy for people with intellectual disability is accompanied by increased age-related health concerns. People ageing with intellectual disability experience more health conditions and are relocated to aged care earlier than their age peers. Method: Group home staff were surveyed about their (a) training and confidence in 11 health conditions and 7 health procedures, and (b) attitude to relocating residents with health needs to aged care. Results: Staff training in each of 10 health conditions and 7 health procedures was positively associated with increased confidence in supporting residents with those health issues. Higher staff confidence in caring for residents with 9 conditions and requiring 4 procedures was negatively associated with a likelihood of recommending that a person with those health needs should relocate to aged care. Conclusions: Targeted training of staff in age-related health issues may contribute to better health care and delay residents relocating to aged care. (Publisher abstract)
Beset by obstacles: a review of Australian policy development to support ageing in place for people with intellectual disability
- Author:
- BIGBY Christine
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 33(1), March 2008, pp.76-86.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Australian government policy regards people with intellectual disability (ID) as citizens with equal rights, which means that they should have access to the same opportunities as the wider community. Ageing in place is central to aged care policy in Australia for the general population. This paper reviews policy to support the provision of similar opportunities to age in place for people with ID, and the reasons for its slow development. Due to lifestyle patterns earlier in the life course, many people with ID experience a mid-life disruption to their accommodation, and may live in a group home as they age or may move prematurely to residential aged care. The absence of mechanisms to adjust disability funding as needs change, and the existence of policy that denies residents in group homes access to community-based aged care, forces disability services to “go it alone” to support ageing in place. Despite a national priority to improve the interface between the disability and aged care sectors, administrative and funding characteristics continue to obstruct the development of implementation strategies to support ageing in place for people with ID, which remain at the stage of an exploration of the issues.
Retirement or just a change of pace: an Australian national survey of disability day services used by older people with disabilities
- Authors:
- BIGBY Christine, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 29(3), September 2004, pp.239-254.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Definitions of old age selected by researchers should reflect differences in culture and life expectancy within and between developing and developed nations. Fifty-five years was used to denote older people in both the Australian national survey and a Victorian study. Consequently, 55 years and older has been used to denote older people in this study. people with a lifelong disability are discussed. A postal survey of 596 day programmes for people with disabilities was conducted, with a response rate of 28%. Findings show that only 19% of service users were aged over 55, and the largest subgroup were people with intellectual disability. Many older people attended programs that were not age specific and a typology of the seven program types utilised was constructed. Individualised planning, flexibility and choice were perceived as fundamental to a successful program. The location of activities in the community, maintenance of social relationships, and opportunities to develop new contacts were also seen as important. Little understanding, however, of the diversity of the ageing process or notions of healthy ageing was demonstrated by service providers, many of whom had limited expectations of older people. Challenges identified in providing day support for older people were lack of financial resources, knowledge and expertise amongst staff, and difficulties interfacing with other service systems.
Later life for adults with intellectual disability: a time of opportunity and vulnerability
- Author:
- BIGBY Christine
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 22(2), June 1997, pp.97-108.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Old age is often regarded as a time of reduced functional capacities, decreasing community participation and narrowing horizons. Such views are sometimes reflected in the nature of programmes and services, and the more limited expectations that service providers hold about people. This article reports on the findings of a qualitative study of the later life experiences of older people (over 55 years) with intellectual disability. Conclusions are drawn about the ways in which later life opportunities can be safeguarded and vulnerabilities reduced through the development of appropriate policies and services for older people with intellectual disability.
When parents relinquish care: informal support networks of older people with intellectual disability
- Author:
- BIGBY Christine
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 10(4), 1997, pp.333-344.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Adults with intellectual disability lack the two key providers of informal support in later life, children and a spouse. Using semi-structured interviews this qualitative study examines the informal support networks of 62 older people with intellectual disability who had left parental care after mid-life. Findings indicate that, for this subgroup of older people, normative family roles such as 'protector' and 'facilitator' were fulfilled by informal network members despite the absence spouses or children.
An effective program design to support older workers with intellectual disability to participate individually in community groups
- Authors:
- BIGBY Christine, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 11(2), 2014, pp.117-127.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The foreshadowed increase of older people with intellectual disability has become a reality in many developed countries. As these adults age, improved quality of life can be achieved through applications of conjoint policy aims of inclusion and participation. A transition-to-retirement (TTR) programme developed for employees of a large multisite disability employment service in Sydney, Australia, used these aims to effect successful partial retirement. The authors describe the program logic of the TTR, detailing its conceptual components as the first step to enabling it to be tested and replicated in other settings. The TTR programme has three components: promoting the concept of retirement, laying the groundwork for inclusion of would-be retirees with intellectual disability in the community, and constructing the reality. The third component comprised five stages: planning, locating a group, mapping new routine, recruiting and training mentors, and monitoring and ongoing support. The project's participants were 24 older employees, who replaced 1 day a week of work with membership of a community group and were supported by mentors who facilitated involvement of the participants in their group. Data collected provided information on the implementation of the program, the time and costs expended, and challenges encountered. Key to the model was a coordinator, skilled in generic case management and specific disability interventions (such as active support), who collaborated with others to manage the program. The authors note that by detailing the program logic underpinning the TTR programme, they have exposed the hidden work of supporting meaningful inclusion of people with intellectual disability in community groups and added to the limited stock of evidence-informed programs in this area. (Edited publisher abstract)
A five-country comparative review of accommodation support policies for older people with intellectual disability
- Author:
- BIGBY Christine
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 7(1), March 2010, pp.3-15.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Most developed countries have social policies which consider people with intellectual disability as citizens with equal rights, which suggest they should share similar goals to a healthy and active older person in the general community, and an expectation of the necessary supports to achieve this. This article, comparing the development and implementation of accommodation support programmes for people aging with intellectual disabilities in five modern welfare states (Australia, Canada, Ireland, the UK, and the US), describes the limited development of policies in this area and suggests possible reasons why this is the case. A review of the literature on aging policies for people with intellectual disability was conducted, which suggested that despite consistent identification of similar broad policy issues and overarching goals, little progress has been made in the development of more specific policies or implementation strategies to address issues associated with accommodation support as people age. The author concludes that policy debates which have conceptualised the problem as ageing in place and the shared responsibility of the care and disability sectors may have detracted from either sector leading the development of formulating, implementing, and resourcing a strong policy framework.