The Validity of the Supports Intensity Scale for Adults With Motor Disability.
The SIS is valid for adults with motor disabilities, so BCBAs can safely use it to set support levels.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Arnkelsson et al. (2016) tested if the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) works for adults with motor disabilities.
They checked if SIS scores line up with real-life support needs.
The study looked only at adults who have physical, not intellectual, disabilities.
What they found
The SIS explained about two-thirds of the variance in needed supports.
That means the scale is a strong match for what these adults actually need.
It proved the tool is valid outside the ID field for the first time.
How this fits with other research
Wehmeyer et al. (2009) already showed the SIS predicts funding-level needs in adults with ID.
Gudmundur’s team extends that win to a new group—people with motor limits only.
Dijkhuizen et al. (2017) tried to validate a balance scale for adults with ID plus visual loss and got poor results.
Their negative finding makes Gudmundur’s strong result stand out; the SIS works where some other tools fail.
Why it matters
If you serve adults who use wheelchairs or have cerebral palsy, you can trust the SIS.
Use it to justify hours for personal care, job coaching, or tech aids.
One concrete step: give the SIS at intake, then link each high-score item to a specific support in the plan.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
We argue that the construct of support needs as used in the field of intellectual disability (ID) offers applicability for persons with motor disabilities. To explore the validity of the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) in groups other than ID, we studied the criterion validity for persons with motor disability in a population sample. The SIS showed excellent criterion validity, explaining 62-69% of the variance depending on different combinations of variables suggested by the literature. A distinctive pattern of support needs specific to motor disability was evident, supporting the sensitivity of the SIS for this population. In conclusion, the SIS is found to be an appropriate and valid instrument for assessing support needs in persons with motor disabilities.
American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2016 · doi:10.1352/1944-7558-121.2.139