Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, Ahead of Print.

Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, Ahead of Print.
This study explores how the way families treat professionals (interpersonal justice) and the trust professionals have in families relate to each other over time in organizations for persons with intellectual disabilities. Interpersonal justice is based on kindness, courtesy, respect, and dignity. Trust is an attitude reflecting the extent to which one party in a relationship believes the other to be trustworthy. We studied data from 179 professionals, measuring interpersonal justice and trust three times with a separation of four weeks. Our findings highlighted a double spiral model in which interpersonal justice and trust strengthen each other, acting as key drivers of dynamic processes. Specifically, interpersonal justice at one point in time (T1) was associated with trust at a later point (T2), which then was related to interpersonal justice again (T3). Similarly, trust at an earlier time (T1) was linked to interpersonal justice later (T2), which subsequently encouraged greater trust (T3).

Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, Ahead of Print.
Specialised Intellectual Disability Health Teams enhance access to health services and improve intersectoral coordination. This study reviewed the profiles and healthcare recommendations for children and young adults with Intellectual Disability. Data was collected from clinical records and analysed using relevant statistical tests. Most children were referred for challenging behaviours, with 13.9% lacking a disability funding plan, and 60% requiring changes in medication. Three-quarters reported functional improvement at six months. A logistic regression model explained 55% of the variance in six-month outcomes, identifying adherence to team recommendations as a significant factor (p < 0.0001). This study highlights the patient profile of a Specialised Intellectual Disability Health Team, identifies gaps in care plans, and emphasises the importance of addressing complex social determinants to ensure effective enactment of these recommendations in partnership with families, ultimately improving outcomes for children and young adults with Intellectual Disability.

Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, Ahead of Print.
This study questioned whether knowledge of the employment situation of a person with an intellectual disability affected stigmatising attitudes towards that individual among a sample of 507 people who did not have intellectual disabilities. A hypothetical individual with a mild intellectual disability was described as either (i) in paid employment, or (ii) living entirely on state social security benefits. Sample members, none of whom were themselves intellectually disabled, unemployed, or living on social security benefits, completed a questionnaire concerning their attitudes towards the person. Many participants who were informed that a person with an intellectual disability worked for a living exhibited more positive attitudes towards the individual than participants advised that the person relied on welfare. The results suggest the existence of a “welfare slur” among some sample members. The level of an observer’s self-reported social status impacted on the favorability of certain attitudes.

Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, Ahead of Print.
Background: This study explored the changes in self-determination-related constructs during transitions in the lives of persons with severe or profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. Method: Questionnaires about autonomy support, basic psychological need expressions, and subjective well-being were filled out twice by family caregivers who foresaw an important transition in the near future (N = 40; pre-post design). Results: Average changes in outcomes across a period of 6-13 months were not statistically significant. Reliable change was observed for 5.6 to 24% of individuals, depending on the outcome variable. Caregiver engagement in and period of impact of the transition, as well as prior expectations, were not associated with these changes. Conclusions: Self-determination-related constructs appear robust against life transitions for most persons with complex support needs. From the caregivers’ perspective, improvements and deteriorations were unexpected, underscoring the need for a better understanding of the role of context for self-determination in this population.

Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, Ahead of Print.
This scoping review explores (a) how k-12 schools facilitate social inclusion, specifically for students with extensive support needs (ESN) and (b) how those intervention approaches are measured. Given the cross-disciplinary nature of the topic, the search entailed ten different databases that identified 540 articles. Eight articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. The approaches used to facilitate social inclusion for students with ESN are summarized as those that involve (a) comprehensive multi-level interventions, (b) peer-mediated interventions, and (c) collaborative consultation and planning with teachers. The scoping review identified three primary constructs that assess social inclusion, namely, social interactions, participation (academic and social), and social validity of the interventions used. The scoping review underscores the complexity of the concept of social inclusion and poses a challenge to identify a unifying measure of social inclusion for students with ESN.

Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, Ahead of Print.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health and wellbeing of social workers working with people with learning disabilities has not been fully explored. This paper reports findings from a large United Kingdom study that surveyed health and care workers in six phases of the pandemic and shortly thereafter (2020-23) relating to 310 social workers who worked with people with learning disabilities. Mann-Whitney U tests revealed that these social workers experienced a decline in wellbeing over the pandemic period, but this lessened as time passed. Logistic regression showed that social worker wellbeing predicted intentions to leave their profession. This study offers an evidence-based foundation to guide retention policies in learning disability social work, aiming to stabilise the sector and preserve essential experience for workforce planning.

Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, Ahead of Print.
BackgroundCancer is one of the most common causes of mortality among disabled people, and population-based screening is an effective method to identify some cancers early; however, its uptake is lower among the disabled population. There is a lack of evidence regarding why they access less, and their need to access population-based screening programmes.AimTo synthesise evidence of the experience of accessing population-based screening programmes for disabled people.MethodA qualitative evidence synthesis (QES) was carried out by searching electronic databases including Medline, CINAHL, Web of Science Core Collection, and Scopus. Grey literature was also searched for. The search yielded 32 relevant publications.ResultsThe findings are based on Levesque’s conceptual framework. Several factors affect the accessibility of screening services, including people’s perceptions, family support, affordability, literacy, and accessibility.ConclusionScreening services need to acknowledge the needs of disabled people and integrate reasonable accommodations to facilitate their needs.

Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, Ahead of Print.
Person-centered planning has been shown to benefit people with disabilities and their quality of life. However, we have little knowledge of how person-centered planning can benefit staff and administration within a group home organization, as well as the extent to which it results in changes to organizational practices and procedures, as well as perceptions of people with disabilities. In this qualitative study, we explored the perspectives of organizational employees, an affiliating behavioral consultant, and residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities, taking into consideration key insights from person-centered planning consultant-coaches, to understand the effects of a person-centered planning initiative on the group home organization. Accompanying our findings are five stories that poetically describe each of the participating residents and their experiences with organizational employees throughout the implementation of the initiative. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, Ahead of Print.
BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder poses challenges in social communication and behavior, while Intellectual disabilities are characterized by deficits in cognitive, social, and adaptive skills, frequently accompanied by stereotypies and challenging behaviors. Despite the progress made in autism spectrum disorder research, there is often a lack of research focusing on individuals with co-occurring autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. Robot-assisted autism therapies are effective in addressing these needs. However, there is a lack of consensus on the optimal number of therapy sessions required for effective outcomes, particularly in children with comorbid autism and intellectual disability.ObjectivesThis study aims to investigate the optimal number of therapy sessions required for effective outcomes in robot-assisted autism therapy, specifically focusing on children with comorbid autism and intellectual disability. Gaze analysis metrics, including the average number of eye contact and average inter-eye contact delay, are utilized to assess therapy effectiveness.MethodsThis study integrates gaze analysis focusing on the average number of eye contact and average inter-eye contact delay as performance metrics. A pilot investigation was conducted to explore the critical temporal window for optimal trial count in robot-assisted autism therapy for children with autism. A mathematical model was introduced and validated for eight children with autism spectrum disorder, encompassing 56 experiments conducted over 7 weeks (one trial per week). Robots presented 8 cues in 3 categories (visual, speech, motion) with 16 cues per trial.Results and ConclusionsThe results, validated using single-sample Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, revealed that the unsaturated state, with a median score of 3.44, exhibited significantly lower average inter-eye contact delay (p-value = 0.014, r = 0.86) and significantly higher average number of eye contact (p-value = 0.014, r = 0.87) compared to the hypothesized medians. These findings suggest that the unsaturated state occurring in the critical temporal window has significantly higher average number of eye contact and lower average inter-eye contact delay compared to the saturated state. This study underscores the importance of tailored and targeted interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder, facilitating the development of cost-effective, time-efficient, evidence-based treatments.