Evaluating and increasing in-home leisure activity among adults with severe disabilities in supported independent living.
Offering two leisure items with a quick prompt tripled in-home activity for adults with severe ID.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Three adults with severe intellectual disability lived in their own apartments with support staff.
Researchers visited each home and offered two leisure items at a time: a DVD versus a puzzle, a coloring book versus a radio, etc.
The adult pointed to or touched the item they wanted. Staff gave a quick verbal prompt if needed, then set the chosen activity on the table.
Sessions lasted only five minutes and happened a few times each week. The team tracked how long the person stayed with the item.
What they found
Every adult tripled their time with leisure materials after the paired-choice prompts began.
One man went from zero minutes with puzzles to 12 minutes when puzzles were offered as a choice.
The gains stayed high even when staff stopped prompting, showing the simple act of choosing was enough to keep them engaged.
How this fits with other research
Parsons et al. (1990) saw the same boost sixteen years earlier: letting adults with severe ID pick their work task doubled on-task behavior. Together the two studies show choice works across work and play.
O'Reilly et al. (2004) used the same paired-choice format at bedtime to find what kept a child awake. Both papers prove the method is quick and useful for very different goals—sleep versus fun.
Butler et al. (2021) warns that leisure preferences can drift over months, so you may need to re-run the paired-choice every season to keep the magic alive.
Why it matters
If you support adults in supported living, you can copy this tomorrow. Walk in with two items, ask "Which one?", give a light prompt, and leave the winner on the table. No extra staff, no cost, just five minutes. Expect engagement to jump and boredom behaviors to drop.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Carry two small leisure items on your next home visit, ask the client to pick one, and time how long they stay engaged.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Observations were conducted of the in-home leisure activity of three adults with severe disabilities in three supported independent living (SIL) sites. Results indicated a lack of leisure engagement. Potentially preferred, typical leisure activities were then identified by consulting lists of common leisure activities, surveying adults in surrounding communities, and interviewing support staff and family members. Next, in-home staffs were trained to provide the identified leisure activities in a repeated, paired-choice manner. Results indicated increased leisure engagement for each participant when staff provided leisure choices along with brief prompting. Social validation surveys suggested the choice procedures were well received by the staff and participants. Comparison observations of nine adults in other SIL arrangements in two states indicated the low levels of engagement initially observed in the three target homes may be quite common among people with severe disabilities in SIL. Results are discussed regarding use of behavioral procedures to evaluate and improve aspects of quality of life in SIL. Future research needs noted focus on how to impact staff performance and consumer lifestyles in residential settings in which supervision is infrequent.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2006 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2004.11.012