Preparing adults with intellectual disabilities for their future: How do support services staff view their role?

BACKGROUND: Person-centred service delivery underpins current approaches to working with individuals with intellectual disabilities. We investigated views of staff from a service organisation regarding their roles in creating desired futures for adults with intellectual disabilities. METHODS: Data were gathered from staff of a large organisation that provided a range of services to adults with intellectual disabilities. Respondents were asked to describe their role in assisting an individual with intellectual disability to meet their goals for the future. Responses were analysed using a text analysis programme. RESULTS: Two major themes were identified: 'Support for self-determination' and 'Business-as-usual'. These themes were not entirely separate but had some overlap. There were indications that staff experienced competing demands in their role(s). CONCLUSION: Although central to person-centred planning, staff who work with adults with intellectual disabilities may not see support of self-determination as a key factor in creating a desired future.

Reliability of a method for establishing the capacity of individuals with an intellectual disability to respond to Likert scales.

BACKGROUND: The study reported here was an examination of the reliability of a method for determining acquiescent responding and the capacity to respond to items using a Likert scale response format by adults with an intellectual disability. METHOD: Reliability of the outcomes of these procedures was investigated using a test-retest design. Associations with receptive vocabulary were examined. RESULTS: The majority of the participants did not demonstrate acquiescent responding. Individuals' responses to the Likert-type discrimination tasks were consistent, although this varied somewhat depending upon the abstractness of the task. There was some association between receptive language age equivalence scores and respondent performance. CONCLUSION: It is recommended that the pretest protocol (a) be modified to improve its reliability, and (b) this modified version be used with study participants who have an intellectual disability to ascertain the appropriate level of choice to be used for items that use a Likert response format.

Maternal support for autonomy: relationships with persistence for children with Down syndrome and typically developing children.

Maternal behaviors and child mastery behaviors were examined in 25 children with Down syndrome and 43 typically developing children matched for mental age (24-36 months). During a shared problem-solving task, there were no group differences in maternal directiveness or support for autonomy, and mothers in the two groups used similar verbal strategies when helping their child. There were also no group differences in child mastery behaviors, measured as persistence with two optimally challenging tasks. However, the two groups differed in the relationships of maternal style with child persistence. Children with Down syndrome whose mothers were more supportive of their autonomy in the shared task displayed greater persistence when working independently on a challenging puzzle, while children of highly directive mothers displayed lower levels of persistence. For typically developing children, persistence was unrelated to maternal style, suggesting that mother behaviors may have different causes or consequences in the two groups.

Young people with Down syndrome: a preliminary investigation of health knowledge and associated behaviours.

BACKGROUND: Adults with intellectual disability have a range of significant health problems. If they are to live independently, they need to engage in behaviours that are health promoting, as well as avoiding behaviours that might directly lead to ill health. There is very little research about health-related knowledge and behaviour in this group. METHOD: A group of 38 adolescents with Down syndrome (DS) and their families participated in this study. A semi-structured interview and a series of tasks were used to collect data on individuals' health knowledge and behaviour relating to 4 aspects of health: hygiene, substance use, exercise and healthy eating. RESULTS: While the majority of young people demonstrated some awareness of basic hygiene, they were not yet at the level where these behaviours could be guaranteed to occur without parental support. Knowledge about substance use, exercise and healthy food was generally poor. CONCLUSION: Knowledge of most aspects of health assessed in this study was poor and pointed to a gap in the preparation of these young people for independent living.

Parental strategies for assisting children to wait.

This study examined parents' behaviours as they waited with their child. Children were presented with an attractively wrapped gift and then asked not to touch it until the experimenter returned from finishing some work in another room. Three parent groups and their children participated in the study - parents of children with Down syndrome, parents of children with intellectual disability from another cause, and parents of children who were developing typically. There were no significant differences between children in how long they were able to wait before touching the gift. The data from the first two groups were combined for all analyses after it was established that there were no significant differences between them. There were few significant differences between parents of a child with intellectual disability and comparison parents. The former group were more likely to be classified as Authoritarian than were comparison parents, however with one exception, parenting style was unrelated to the strategies parents used in the waiting situation. Very few parents in either group used the opportunity to teach or explicitly praise effective waiting strategies in their children.

Breaking the hype cycle: using the computer effectively with learners with intellectual disabilities.

There has been huge growth in the use of information technology (IT) in classrooms for learners of all ages. It has been suggested that computers in the classroom encourage independent and self-paced learning, provide immediate feedback and improve self-motivation and self-confidence. Concurrently there is increasing interest related to the role of technology in educational programs for individuals with intellectual disabilities. However, although many claims are made about the benefits of computers and software packages there is limited evidence based information to support these claims. Researchers are now starting to look at the specific instructional design features that are hypothesised to facilitate education outcomes rather than the over-emphasis on graphics and sounds. Research undertaken as part of a post-school program (Latch-On: Literacy and Technology - Hands On) at the University of Queensland investigated the use of computers by young adults with intellectual disabilities. The aims of the research reported in this paper were to address the challenges identified in the 'hype' surrounding different pieces of educational software and to develop a means of systematically analysing software for use in teaching programs.

What's it all about? Investigating reading comprehension strategies in young adults with down syndrome.

The purpose of reading is for the reader to construct meaning from the text. For many young adults with Down syndrome, knowing what the text is all about is difficult, and so for them the activity of reading becomes simply the practice of word calling. It is suggested in the literature that for those individuals with Down syndrome, learning can continue into adolescence and that this may be the optimal time for learning to occur. However, a review of the literature revealed limited empirical research specifically relating to the reading comprehension of young adults with Down syndrome. Recent findings from Latch-On (Literacy And Technology Hands On), a research-based literacy and technology program for young adults with Down syndrome at the University of Queensland, revealed that comprehension remained the significant area of difficulty and showed least improvement (Moni & Jobling, 2001). It was suggested by Moni and Jobling (2001) that explicit instruction in comprehension using a variety of strategies and meaningful, relevant texts was required to improve the ability of young adults with Down syndrome to construct meaning from written texts. This paper is based on an action research project that was developed within the Latch-On program. The project utilised a modification of Elliot's (1991) action research model and was conducted to investigate specific teaching and learning strategies that would enhance the reading comprehension of young adults with Down syndrome. The participants were 6 young adults with Down syndrome ranging in age from 18 to 25 years. As the data from this project are still being analysed, preliminary findings of one participant are presented as a case study. The preliminary findings appear to indicate that the program of specific teaching and learning reading comprehension strategies used in this project was beneficial in the participant's reading comprehension.

Reading with Abby: a case study of individual tutoring with a young adult with Down syndrome.

This case study examined the impact of a series of tutoring sessions on the literacy development of a young woman with Down syndrome. The sessions were conducted within the LATCH-ON (Literacy and Technology-Hands On) program at the Schonell Special Education Centre at the University of Queensland and made use of technology resources in addition to other methods of instruction. The first author assumed the role of participant observer through the reported sessions and acted as an individual tutor to the young woman. Data obtained from an initial screening indicated that the young woman had only limited word decoding strategies when reading text, and consequently, had significant problems with comprehension. Instruction during individual tutoring sessions focused primarily on phonics instruction, as well as other decoding strategies, such as sight word recognition. Specific instructional strategies employed by the first author are discussed. Within the context of the LATCH-ON program, the impact of individual instruction on the development of literacy is examined and discussed.

Programa de intervención para mejorar la cultura relacionada con la lectura de jóvenes adultos con síndrome de Down: resultados de un programa de tres años / No disponible

Varios investigadores han propuesto que los adultos jóvenes con síndrome de Down pueden beneficiarse de programas de educación continuada en lectura, pasados los años de enseñanza obligatoria. Concretamente, la investigación ha demostrado que, frente al mito de un estacionamiento en la capacidad de aprendizaje, el desarrollo cognitivo de las personas con síndrome de Down continúa durante la adolescencia y durante etapas posteriores. Más aún, se ha propuesto también que los años de adultez joven puede ser el momento más adecuado para concentrarse en el desarrollo de la capacidad lectora. Basándonos en esta investigación y el trabajo que vamos desarrollando en el Down Syndrome Research Project (DSRP), establecimos un programa de capacidad lectora para adultos jóvenes con síndrome de Down en la Universidad de Queensland en 1998. Este programa que conjuga lectura y medios tecnológicos (LATCH-ON) ofrece un período de dos años de actividades de enseñanza y aprendizaje basadas en modelos socio-culturales de habilidad lectora, en los que se integra la enseñanza explícita de la lectura, la escritura, el lenguaje, y la capacidad de escuchar y ver con el desarrollo y utilización de instrumentos tecnológicos. Se realizaron evaluaciones de la capacidad lectora mediante los métodos de Neale-revisado (Neale, 1988) y de Clay (Clay, 1979), antes de que los estudiantes se incorporaran al programa y al concluir el curso de dos años. Este trabajo ofrece los resultados sobre la evolución de la habilidad lectora en 17 jóvenes adultos que han participado en el programa. Se analizan los resultados en función de la naturaleza diversa de las necesidades de los estudiante, la variabilidad de sus habilidades lectoras, y los problemas para los educadores (AU)

No disponible

An Evaluative Case Study of a Psychological Skills Training Program for Athletes with Intellectual Disabilities.

The purpose was to develop an evaluative case study of six 3-hr sessions, spaced over 3 months, of psychological skills training (PST) provided to athletes with an intellectual disability who were training for the Basketball Australia State Championships. Participants were 7 males and 7 females, aged 15.8 to 27.1 years, with a receptive language level of 7 to 13.7 years, 2 female coaches, 2 psychologists, and 1 registered psychologist supervisor. Sessions focused specifically on stress management, with primary attention given to cue words, breathing techniques, and positive thinking. Findings, based on interviews and participant observations, revealed that all participants believed that the PST was appropriate and worthwhile.