Brief report: Aggressive challenging behaviour in adults with intellectual disability following community resettlement.

Bhaumik et al. (2009) tracked adults with intellectual disability who left a long-stay hospital.

Each person got a person-centred plan and a regular home in the community.

The team counted aggressive acts before the move, at six months, and at one year.

Aggressive behaviour dropped sharply by six months.

The drop held steady at the one-year mark.

No extra behaviour drugs were needed.

McSweeney et al. (1993) saw problem behaviour rise after similar moves, but their group mixed psychiatric diagnoses.

The 2009 ID-only sample shows the opposite: aggression falls when the plan is truly person-centred.

Gerber et al. (2011) later tested a structured ABA-based residential programme for adults with both autism and ID.

They also cut challenging behaviour, proving the gain isn’t limited to pure resettlement.

Singh et al. (1993) found no behaviour change yet higher service use, hinting that early moves lacked good plans.

You can tell funders and families that closing institutions does not spark a behaviour crisis.

Instead, aggression drops fast when the person drives the plan and staff are trained.

Use this paper to justify small homes, high staff ratios, and individual behaviour supports from day one.