The Support Needs of Children with Intellectual Disability and Autism: Implications for Supports Planning and Subgroup Classification.
Children with ID+ASD sort into four reproducible support-need clusters—use them to pick goals, not the broad diagnosis.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team fed SIS-C scores into a computer. The computer looked for hidden groups.
All kids had both ID and ASD. The goal was to see if support needs cluster into clear profiles.
What they found
Four support-need profiles popped out. Each profile shows a different pattern of help wanted.
The clusters held steady, so you can use them like a map when you write an IEP.
How this fits with other research
Leonard et al. (2022) took the same four groups and asked about quality of life. They found kids in the low-support cluster also report the highest QoL. The two papers lock together like Lego.
Soenen et al. (2009) did an earlier cluster study on mild ID only. They also found four groups, but their tool was homemade and ASD was not required. Bao et al. (2017) updates that idea by using the standard SIS-C and adding ASD.
Sajith et al. (2008) used a different math model and said ASD splits by social-communication plus IQ. Bao et al. (2017) do not contradict this; they just move the lens from traits to support needs.
Why it matters
Stop writing generic goals. Pick the profile that matches your learner, then build goals around the exact supports that cluster needs. You will save planning time and the family will see faster progress.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The Supports Intensity Scale-Children's version (SIS-C) was developed to provide a standardized measure of support needs of children with intellectual disability. Over half of the norming sample had a secondary diagnosis of autism. Using this subset of the sample, we engaged in exploratory analysis to examine the degree to which latent clusters were present in the data, and after identifying these clusters, the degree to which they mapped on the SIS-C standard scores. A four latent class solution provided the best fit to the data. When mapped on SIS-C standard scores, specific patterns of differences were found in life activity domain scores and overall support needs scores. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2017 · doi:10.1007/s10803-016-2995-y