Journal of Intellectual Disabilities

The current study aims to identify Jordanian mothers’ perspectives on their intellectually disabled daughters receiving hysterectomies. A qualitative methodology was employed; for the study sample, twelve mothers were chosen using a snowballing technique. Semi-structured interviews were carried out, and thematic analysis was utilized. Two main themes arose from the data analysis process: the reasons why mothers made the decision for their daughters to have hysterectomies – which included fears about unwanted pregnancy and keeping family honor – despite this conflicting with their religious and cultural values, and their concerns about their daughters having hysterectomies. Based on these findings, some implications and suggestions for future research were provided.

Individuals with intellectual disabilities need an affective and sexual education adapted to their characteristics. There are few interventions that meet these objectives and offer empirical evidence of their efficacy. To respond to the limitations of existing interventions, an evidence-based affective-sexual educational intervention for adults with a mild degree of intellectual disability is proposed: SALUDIVERSEX. Participants will be randomly assigned to an intervention group that will receive the SALUDIVERSEX program or to a waiting list group. The intervention will be implemented by educators of occupational centers after a thorough training phase. Our main hypothesis is that the SALUDIVERSEX program will improve the sexual health and quality of life, through the joint action built into three components: the acquisition of basic information, the development of skills and strategies and the achievement of healthy attitudes towards the experience and expression of sexuality. The results of this approach could have important implications for optimizing the quality of life and self-determination of individuals with Intellectual disability by contributing to the development of healthy sexuality.

The aim of this study was to investigate the transition of employees with intellectual disabilities to inclusive work environments from sheltered workplaces. The study was conducted in a sheltered workplace in Turkey for people with intellectual disabilities. Data was collected from 71 participants in interviews. Interviews were conducted with employees (n = 28), families of employees (n = 24), company human resource managers (n = 8), sheltered workshop foremen (n = 7), and special education teachers (n = 4). The study group asked about the future of the sheltered workplace and participants’ views on transition to inclusive work environments. The answers of the participants were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings showed that many participants had positive views about transition along with concerns about accidents and security problems that may occur in inclusive environments. It was observed that negative attitudes and views were related with lack of knowledge about inclusive work environment conditions.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people with intellectual disabilities living in care facilities could not receive visitors. Health authorities suggested the use of digital social contact as an alternative for in-person visits. We examined how people with intellectual disabilities living in care facilities experienced the use of digital social contact with their informal social network throughout 2020. Residents, their relatives, volunteer visitors, direct support staff, and care facility managers (N = 283) completed an online questionnaire, of whom 35 participated in an interview. Video calling and in-person visits were among the most common forms of staying in touch. Experiences with digital social contact depended on residents’ abilities and support needs, and on preconditions, such as staff availability. The first phases of the pandemic led to experiences of possibilities and benefits of using digital social contact as complementary to in-person contact for people with different levels of intellectual disability, also after the pandemic.

Motor competence is important for lifelong physical activity (PA). The current study aimed to examine associations between PA and motor competence. In total, 43 children aged 7–12 years with intellectual disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorder completed anthropometric measures, the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-2, and wore a wrist accelerometer to capture total PA, moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), average acceleration, and intensity gradient. No significant associations were found between PA outcomes and motor competence. Motor competence performance was commonly ‘below average’ or ‘average’. The weakest subtests were upper limb coordination and strength. The strongest subtest was running speed and agility. Total weekly MVPA was 336.1 ± 150.3 min, higher than UK recommendations of 120-180 per week for disabled children and young people. Larger scale studies are needed to better understand the relationship between PA and motor competence. Future research should also consider the influence of environmental factors on PA in this group.

The purpose of this research exploration was to investigate the impact of video prompting procedures on the acquisition of electronic journaling skill, and how to create and present scientific knowledge previously learned by students with intellectual disabilities. Using single-subject, multiple probe, and multiple baseline-design across four participants with moderate intellectual disabilities, results revealed that participants could increase their number of correct, completed steps for creating their electronic journals for the science classes. Results also showcased that participants had an opportunity to encounter the tablet-based, evidence-based instructional strategy to learn how to introduce their scientific pieces, talk about and communicate their ideas and thoughts. Implications for future research and practice were provided.

In this study, it was aimed to examine the adaptation processes of individuals with intellectual disabilities and their mothers to COVID-19 restrictions. The research was designed in qualitative research method and focus group interview technique was used. The mothers of individuals with intellectual disabilities constitute the participant group of the study. A semi-structured interview form consisting of eight questions prepared by the researchers was used as a data collection tool. Data were collected through two focus group interviews via Zoom link. The data obtained were analyzed by content analysis method. As a result of the research, four themes were reached: “Life Before the Pandemic”, “Encountering the Pandemic”, “Effects of the Pandemic”, and “Facilitation in the Adaptation Process to the Pandemic”. As a result, although COVID-19 restrictions led to the regression of some skills of individuals with intellectual disabilities, it created an opportunity for them to develop new interests. In addition, although there were supports that facilitated the pandemic process, it was determined that mothers needed even more psychological support during this period.

Intellectual functioning impacts defendants’ competence to stand trial, though research on this population remains limited. This study replicated and advanced prior work, focusing on defendants’ demographic, clinical, cognitive, and criminal justice variables and their association with length of hospitalization and restoration determinations. Participants were 74 male and female criminal defendants in a midwestern state who were adjudicated incompetent to stand trial, had a diagnosis related to intellectual deficits, and completed competency restoration. Most defendants (83.7%) were restored to competency. Demographic factors were unrelated to restoration outcomes; violence of alleged offense predicted shorter hospitalization. Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve analyses determined an IQ score cut-off of 63.5 for which participants were of greater likelihood to be determined restored, providing guidance on the likelihood of restoration for defendants with intellectual disability related diagnoses. Specifically, this score can be used with clinical data to inform competency determinations for defendants with cognitive deficits.

The usefulness of information and communication technology has been witnessed around the globe with the occurrence of rapid changes in the field of education i.e. through the formal or informal way. For this, the researchers have assessed Interactive video-based instruction (IVBI) on (N = 95; males = 47 & females = 48 age range between 12 and 15 years) moderate intellectual disability children in Guwahati, Assam, India from three day-care rehabilitation centres. The main objective was to examine the effect of IVBI intervention (IIVBI & CIVBI) on academic performance in association with the cognitive development of children with moderate intellectual disability in a comfortable setting within working hours. The findings conclude that children in the CIVBI group performed more actively as compared to IIVBI and comparison group, and it was due to the involvement of video-based instruction that helped understand the topic more precisely and acts effectively for CIVBI children in an experimental setting.

The purpose is to test the applicability of the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) to Chinese children with intellectual disabilities. The study was done by distributing the questionnaire to the parents through teachers online. Asked the parents to fill out the scale based on their observations of their children's daily life. The correlation coefficients between each item and the total score of the corresponding dimension ranged from 0.52 to 0.77. Factor analysis confirmed the establishment of the PA-NA two-factor structure of affect. A significant positive correlation existed between the NA and the challenging behavior. The Cronbach's α coefficient and split-half reliability of the PA scale were 0.87 and 0.85, and the Cronbach's α coefficient and split-half reliability of the NA scale were 0.85 and 0.83, respectively, higher than 0.80. It was concluded that PANAS has good applicability in Chinese children with intellectual disabilities.

Students with intellectual disabilities need more time and explicit instruction to develop word decoding. Most previous research on interventions among these students is performed in English. Therefore, the current study examined the impact of a word-decoding intervention in Swedish on individual students with intellectual disabilities. A single-subject-design study was conducted with five students with mild intellectual disability in the fourth grade. They needed to enhance decoding, and Swedish was their first language. Their word and non-word decoding was measured during the baseline and intervention phases. The intervention with the Wolff Intensive Program was delivered by special education teachers supporting phonemic decoding and reading fluency training during 25 sessions. All five students developed their decoding as they decoded more words in a given time (NAP=0.84-1.00) and decreased their decoding errors in both word and nonword decoding (NAP=0.72-1.00). The results are promising but need to be confirmed in additional studies.

Frailty is a health concern for many adults with intellectual disability and should be measured to detect at-risk conditions, monitor disease, plan treatment, and gauge mortality. This descriptive pilot study evaluated measurement consistency (inter-rater agreement) of the Intellectual Disability-Frailty Index Short Form among multiple assessors with 20 adults (M age = 48.3 years) who had intellectual and multiple disabilities. Agreement percentages were computed for (a) non-frail, pre-frail, and frail categories derived from total index scores, and (b) each of 17 deficits listed on the form. Low average inter-rater agreement (<85%) was obtained on the index frail categories, several of the assessed deficits had acceptable inter-rater agreement (84.2-100%), while the majority of deficits were associated with moderate-to-low agreement percentages. Though research supports the Intellectual Disability-Frailty Index Short Form as a valid and practical frailty assessment instrument, our findings suggest that full-scale inter-rater agreement must be improved by adding more specificity to the form, clarifying instructions for assessors, and providing competency-based training in assessment implementation.

When hospitalized, adults with intellectual disabilities are more anxious and have more unmet needs than the general population. Despite these problems, studies report contradictory results about their satisfaction with hospitalization. The aim of this study was to determine the level of satisfaction of adults with intellectual disabilities regarding their hospital care and the factors associated with satisfaction. An analysis of the Patient Satisfaction Scale (PSS) and Cognitive Appraisal of Health Scale (CAHS) instruments completed by adults with intellectual disabilities, or their caregivers, after hospitalization was done. The 32 participants’ mean PSS score was 3.6/5, with means of 13.3/25 and 8.7/25 on the CAHS’ ‘harm/loss’ dimension and ‘challenge’ dimension, respectively. None of the factors studied was associated with the total PSS score. Adults with intellectual disabilities were not fully satisfied with their hospital care, experiencing challenges and losses. These findings call for a rethink of the care provided to this population.