Listening to the voices of adolescents with intellectual disabilities: Exploring perception of post-school transition.

BACKGROUND: Life skills play a key role in the transition of a child with intellectual disabilities into a young adult. According to previous research, students with intellectual disabilities often lack such skills. However, most studies on this topic have been conducted on teachers or parents. Limited studies are available on adolescents with intellectual disabilities. Therefore, this study investigates how adolescents with disabilities perceive their competence in life skills post-school. METHOD: The sample consisted of 201 adolescents with disabilities (67 % with mild intellectual disabilities and 33 % with other disabilities). RESULTS: The results revealed that adolescents with intellectual disabilities' perception of their life skills in all areas (independent living, personal money management, community involvement and usage, leisure activities, health, and social/interpersonal relationships) was significantly lower compared to adolescents with other disabilities. In four out of the six sub-scales, female respondents reported that their competence level in life skills was lower compared to males. In addition, adolescents with disabilities in daycare centers stated that they could establish better social and personal relationships when compared to adolescents from other schools.

Enhancing special education programs' curricula for students with intellectual disabilities in saudi arabia: A call for personalized approaches and inclusive practices.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In Saudi Arabia, students with intellectual disabilities (ID) receive some of their education through textbooks. However, using textbooks with students with ID contradicts the principles of providing services based on individuals with ID needs personalized plans to develop their individual abilities. This study aimed to investigate family and teacher perceptions of middle and high school curricula for students with ID in Saudi Arabia. This study focused specifically on the extent to which these curricula contribute to the development of academic and life skills among these students. METHOD AND PROCEDURE: A 21-item scale was used to measure the perceptions of family members and teachers of individuals with intellectual disability. The scale validity and reliability were examined and supported. The sample comprised of 113 family members and 111 teachers of students with ID. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Family members and teachers both expressed low satisfaction regarding the improvement in academic and life skills of students as a result of the current curricular in the surveyed programs. Additionally, they conveyed dissatisfaction with the overall outcomes of services provided for individuals with intellectual disabilities. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: This study highlights the inadequacies of a one-size-fits-all approach to designing curricula for students with ID. There is a need to improve and enhance curriculum content to meet the diverse learning needs of these individuals.

Validation of the Arabic Version of the Transition Planning Inventory (TPI-AR).

The Transition Planning Inventory (TPI) is an important tool for planning the transition to life after school for students with disabilities. While interest in transition services has increased in the last decade in the Arab region, no transition assessment tools validated for the Arab population are currently available. This study is the first to validate an Arabic version (TPI-AR) for all three rating forms (student, home, and school) and examine its psychometric properties. The sample comprised 203 students with disabilities, a member of their family, and one of their teachers. The 11 subscales of TPI-AR for all three forms were found reliable and valid to be used with students with disabilities in Saudi Arabia, particularly in middle and high schools.

Measuring Family Quality of Life: Scoping Review of the Available Scales and Future Directions.

The lack of quality of life is a key issue for families with children with an intellectual disability. While the quality of life for people with disabilities has previously been researched as an individual variable, this has now shifted to include family members. The purpose of this study was to conduct a review of the studies measuring the quality of life of families with an intellectually disabled member, in order to identify the most commonly used scales and their psychometric properties. METHOD: Data were collected from six databases (ERIC, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL, MedLine, and Google Scholar), and this search yielded 3948 studies. One hundred and twenty studies that met the inclusion criteria were included in this study. RESULTS: Nine scales were used in the last years to measure the quality of life for families with individuals with an intellectual disability. The Beach Center scale was the most common scale, followed by the Family Quality of Life Survey and the World Health Organization's quality of life assessment (WHOQoL-BREF). The results showed that the included studies in the review lack the consideration of a broader population representing the different types of cultures with different socioeconomic backgrounds. Key aspects used to assess the FQoL are environmental factors (proximal and distal factors), as well as economic factors. CONCLUSION: Although the operationalization of the FQoL often incudes several subthemes, a general agreement regarding which domains of the FQoL need to be included in the measurements, and these do not exist right now. Moreover, multidimensional scales are still rare.