Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities最新文献

Implementing supported and customized employment in all their components is essential for supporting job seekers with disabilities to achieve their career goals. We asked 42 employment consultants in nine employment programs to respond daily to three quick questions about their employment support activities, for 6 months. Through monthly coaching, we helped the managers of these organizations engage their teams of employment consultants to interpret the data, reflect, set goals, and take action for quality improvement. Based on the positive results of this pilot, we recommend that employment consultants be provided with data-enabled feedback that supports decision making and helps them fully implement supported and customized employment as a necessary step toward improving job seekers' employment outcomes.

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated rapid policy changes to address new demands on disability service systems. A statewide survey of families of people who received Medicaid funded home- and community-based (HCBS) long-term services and supports (LTSS) in one Midwestern state was conducted to understand (1) utilization of services allowed under the policy change, (2) family's experiences if their family member with a disability accessed the services, and (3) family's perspectives on the need for ongoing changes in the future. Overall, the results suggest that a subset of families took advantage of flexibilities introduced into service delivery models during the pandemic, and the changes-when accessed-addressed important needs that a large majority of families that accessed the services hoped would be sustained in the future.

This study is among the first pre-post examinations to explore differences in subjective well-being, adaptive and maladaptive behavior, close relationships, community integration, family members' satisfaction with residential and community living settings, and family contact before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. Participants demonstrated better life satisfaction and adaptive behavior before COVID-19 than after COVID-19. Participants reported closer relationships with family members and peers before COVID-19 and closer relationships with staff members after COVID-19. The findings reveal mixed, although mostly negative, effects of the pandemic on people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the community in Israel, in accord with extant comparative research.

Direct support professionals (DSPs) are at increased risk of contracting COVID-19. A four-wave survey series was conducted, in part, to understand DSPs' COVID-19 vaccination experiences. Fourth wave data were used to compare those vaccinated against COVID-19 when they became eligible (early adopters) and those waiting at least three months before vaccination (in-betweeners). Findings indicated that in-betweeners were more likely to be female, younger, and people of color with lower education levels and annual incomes, with employers requiring COVID-19 vaccination to remain employed. COVID-19 vaccination motivators included protection for self, family, or people supported; an employer who mandated COVID-19 vaccination; and having had COVID-19 or knowing someone who did.

This study addresses the need to reinforce the reading learning of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in general education classrooms. A standardized way of assessing support needs in reading (SNr) from the teachers' perspective is proposed. The objectives were (i) to develop an instrument and evaluate its properties and (ii) to preliminarily assess the support needs in reading of students with IDD. Participants were 86 Chilean elementary school teachers who responded about the support needs of their own students. The instrument assesses three dimensions (i.e., representation, engagement, and action and expression). Analyses showed excellent preliminary evidence of validity and reliability. Preliminarily identified support needs suggest that students need more support in representation. Practical and research implications are discussed.

Access to high-quality primary care has been identified as a pressing need for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Interprofessional primary care teams offer comprehensive and coordinated approaches to primary care delivery and are well-positioned to address the needs of adults with IDD. The overall aim of this article is to describe the current provision of interprofessional primary care for adults with IDD from the perspectives of patients, caregivers, and health providers. Results provide important insights into the current state of practice and highlight a critical need for further work in the field to develop processes to engage in team-based care and demonstrate the value of the approach for this population.

Systems navigation can be difficult, especially for low-resourced families (i.e., families who are "low income" or meet one of the following indicators: mother has a high school diploma or less; primary caregiver is unemployed; or the family receives governmental assistance). Navigators may help families access services; however, the training of navigators is unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness and feasibility of Supporting Parents to Access and Navigate Services (SPANS), a program to develop navigators. Altogether, 19 low-resourced parents of children with autism participated in SPANS. Participants demonstrated significantly improved knowledge about autism services and perceived advocacy for other families and systemic change. There was high attendance, low attrition, high acceptability, and high fidelity. Implications are discussed.

This study investigated Chinese special education teachers' perceptions and practices of individualizing instruction for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Semistructured interviews were conducted with 31 teachers who taught elementary Chinese language arts and math in six public special education schools for students with IDD in Shanghai. In addition, lesson plans written by 19 of the 31 teachers were collected. Thematic analysis revealed that teachers recognized the necessity of adapting instruction. However, practices and beliefs associated with one-size-fits-all approaches to teaching were prevalent. Although all teachers described making efforts to address individual differences, these efforts appeared to be inadequate. Teachers perceived fully addressing the needs of individual students as difficult and described challenges in four areas.

Through focus groups, adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) provided their priorities for health equity data, surveys, and information dissemination by U.S. federal agencies. Participants reported privacy concerns about sharing information, need for better data to promote access to quality health care and services, and need for information on social contexts that influence quality of life. Data should include functional limitations, health risks, and priorities for health care, and should support choice and self-determination. Adults with IDD believe parents or support persons do not always share their views, raising concerns about proxy reporting. Surveys and information need to use clear language, visual aids, and provide neutral supports. Information should be shared broadly, including to persons with IDD and families, health care professionals, and policy makers.