Participation of adults with visual and severe or profound intellectual disabilities: Analysis of individual support plans.
Adults with visual and profound ID have almost no written inclusion or leisure goals.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team read 29 support plans for adults who are blind and have severe or profound ID.
They counted how often five participation themes showed up in the text.
The themes were experience, involvement, social ties, inclusion, and leisure.
What they found
Every plan talked about letting clients explore or discover new things.
Most plans noted family visits or staff help with friends.
Only a few plans listed true community inclusion or leisure goals.
How this fits with other research
Gerber et al. (2011) warned that vision loss plus ID raises behavior problems.
Gineke’s data suggest plans focus on safe activities but skip bold community steps.
Einfeld et al. (1996) showed half of adults in care had hidden eye issues.
Together the papers say: fix vision first, then write braver participation goals.
Bigby et al. (2012) found staff often ‘do for’ clients; scant inclusion wording here echoes that habit.
Why it matters
If inclusion and leisure are missing on paper, they are probably missing in life.
Open each ISP, add one line that names a real community spot, time, and support.
That single edit can shift team talk from keeping clients busy to getting them out.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: The extent of participation of adults with visual and severe or profound intellectual disabilities (VSPID) is unclear. AIMS: To explore participation of adults with VSPID and the association between occurrence and importance of aspects of participation. METHODS: Individual support plans (ISPs) of 40 adults with VSPID were analyzed: selected text fragments were categorized according to 125 previously operationalized statements that had different levels of importance and were divided into seven participation clusters. RESULTS: The ISPs contained 2791 text fragments that related to a statement. All clusters were covered: the clusters 'Experience and discover' (91.7%), 'Involvement' (90%), and 'Social relations' (87.5%) were well covered. 'Inclusion' (53.6%) and 'Leisure and recreation' (57.1%) were mentioned less often. Among the 36 high-importance statements, two related to 'Inclusion', 'Involvement' and 'Social Relations' each, three to 'Communication and being understood', and five to 'Self-management and autonomy' had at least 30 text fragments. CONCLUSIONS: The participation domains 'Experience and discover', 'Involvement', and 'Social relations' are well-documented, suggesting that adults with VSPID participate in those areas. However, domains such as 'inclusion in society' and 'leisure in society' were not documented. This overview of participation offers residential facilities the opportunity to determine in which areas participation can be improved.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2018 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2018.08.012