Development and Preliminary Validation of the Accommodations & Impact Scale for Developmental Disabilities

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Family Studies

Background:

• Caregiving for children with developmental disabilities (DD) significantly impacts family life.
• Accommodations are strategies caregivers use to manage daily functioning, offering insights into family needs.
• A validated tool is needed to systematically measure these accommodations and their impacts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and preliminarily validate the Accommodations & Impact Scale for Developmental Disabilities (AISDD).
• To assess the scale's reliability, validity, and sensitivity to relevant factors in caregivers of youth with DDs.

Main Methods:

• The AISDD, a 19-item rating scale, was developed.
• 407 caregivers of youth with DDs completed the AISDD alongside measures of caregiver strain, daily challenges, child adaptive behavior, and behavior/emotional regulation.
• Statistical analyses included reliability (internal consistency, test-retest) and validity (convergent, sensitivity) assessments.

Main Results:

• The AISDD demonstrated excellent internal consistency (ordinal alpha = .93) and test-retest reliability (ICC = .95).
• Scale scores were normally distributed and sensitive to caregiver age, child diagnosis (ASD + ID > ASD > ID), child adaptive functioning, and challenging behaviors.
• The AISDD showed excellent convergent validity with existing measures of accommodations and impacts.

Conclusions:

• The AISDD is a valid and reliable tool for measuring day-to-day accommodations and impacts experienced by caregivers of individuals with DDs.
• This scale shows promise for identifying families requiring additional support, facilitating a family-centered approach.
• The AISDD can aid researchers and clinicians in understanding the caregiving experience for families with DDs.