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Factors related to adaptive behavior changes among profoundly mentally retarded, physically disabled persons
American Journal of Mental Deficiency
|May 1, 1986
Summary
Individuals with profound intellectual and physical disabilities showed better adaptive skill growth in a moderately sized facility compared to small community programs. Client characteristics and program content, not residence size, predict growth.
Area of Science:
- Intellectual disability research
- Disability studies
- Rehabilitation science
Background:
- Evaluating adaptive competence in individuals with profound intellectual and physical disabilities is crucial for effective service delivery.
- Understanding the impact of living environment size on habilitative outcomes is essential for optimizing care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare changes in adaptive competence over one year for individuals with profound intellectual and physical disabilities living in a moderately sized residential facility versus small community programs.
- To identify factors influencing habilitative growth, including living environment characteristics and client-specific needs.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study tracking adaptive competence over a 1-year period.
- Comparison of skill acquisition between residents of a moderately sized facility and participants in small community programs.
- Analysis of the relationship between goal presence, specific impairments, and changes in independent living, motor, and eating skills.
Main Results:
- No evidence of greater habilitative growth in small community programs compared to the moderately sized facility.
- Residents of the moderately sized facility demonstrated skill acquisition, while community program residents showed a slight decline in adaptive skills.
- Within community programs, goal relevance positively correlated with independent living skill changes; musculoskeletal impairments were linked to motor and eating skill regression.
Conclusions:
- Client characteristics and habilitative program content are significant predictors of adaptive growth.
- The size of the residential setting is likely less critical for effective service delivery than program content and client-specific factors.
- Individualized goal setting and targeted interventions for specific impairments may enhance outcomes in community-based programs.