General service plans: An evaluation of their content within two service delivery systems1

The Victorian Government's Intellectually Disabled Persons' Services Act (1986) makes a number of provisions for service delivery to people with intellectual disabilities. Among these are the option for each client to have a General Service Han (GSP). This paper describes an evaluation of the content of two samples of GSPs; one sample (N = 195) was associated with the work of the Community Living Support Service program, and the other (N = 39) with the work of the Intellectual Disability Review Panel. The results show that there is room for improvement in the quality of GSPs. Recommendations are made regarding an appropriate content of GSPs in order for them to serve their intended function as a service plan for an individual client. © 1991, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved

A model system for the evaluation of individual program plans

Individual Program Plans are an essential component of quality assurance in service delivery to people with an intellectual disability. This paper describes a system for the evaluation of such plans. One hundred and sixty- three plans were analysed from clients being serviced by 11 Community Living Support Services. While the plans prepared by non-government agencies were generally superior, the average level of plan presentation was poor. Only 14% offered any criterion for evaluating performance objectives, the average number of skill building objectives was less then three per plan, and only 39% of plans were current. It is concluded that if Individual Program Plans are to realize their quality assurance potential, the issues of staff resources, staff training in plan preparation and overall professional accountability will need to be addressed

A model system for the construction and evaluation of general service plans

The appropriate delivery of service to people with an intellectual disability can be facilitated with the use of General Service Plans (GSPs). However, the guidelines for their construction are inadequate. This paper provides a suggested content for such plans, a protocol for their evaluation, and an assessment of GSPs in Victoria constructed between 1987 and 1990. It is concluded that the suggested evaluation procedures have face validity and are simple to implement. A large number of GSPs were found to have been inadequately prepared. © 1994, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved

Risk factors associated with the mental health of fathers of children with an intellectual disability in Australia

Background: Raising a child with a disability places considerable demands and stress on parents, which can contribute to mental health difficulties. Research has primarily focused on mothers' mental health, and our understanding of the effects on fathers remains limited. The factors that place fathers at increased risk of mental health difficulties are also poorly understood. This study aimed to redress these gaps by reporting on the mental health of a large sample of fathers of children with an intellectual disability (ID) (aged 3-15 years), comparing this to published Australian norms and mothers of children with ID. The second aim of the study was to explore risk factors associated with fathers' mental health. Method: The data for this study come from 315 Australian fathers of children (aged 3-15 years) with ID, who participated in the large-scale evaluation of the Signposts for building better behaviour programme. Fathers completed a range of self-report questionnaires at baseline including the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS). Results: Fathers in the present sample reported significantly more symptoms of depression and stress than the Australian normative data, with approximately 6-8% reporting symptoms in the severe to extremely severe range. The strongest predictors of fathers' mental health difficulties were children's behaviour problems, daily stress arising from fathers' own needs and children's care needs, and low parenting satisfaction. Socio-economic factors did not predict mental health difficulties. Conclusion: This study is among one of the first to report the mental health of fathers of children with a disability in Australia. Findings highlight that some fathers of children with ID are at heightened risk of experiencing mental health difficulties, underscoring the importance of the provision of information and interventions to promote their mental health

Acute and chronic demyelinating polyneuropathy post AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine

With the rollout of worldwide Covid-19 vaccination programmes, there have been reports of  potential neurological complications which may be attributable to the vaccines. These include cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST)1, which appears to be a complication of thrombosis with  thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS). This has been documented as a rare complication of the  AstraZeneca and Ad26.COV2.S (Janssen) Covid-19 vaccines </p

Acute and chronic demyelinating polyneuropathy post AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine

With the rollout of worldwide Covid-19 vaccination programmes, there have been reports of  potential neurological complications which may be attributable to the vaccines. These include cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST)1, which appears to be a complication of thrombosis with  thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS). This has been documented as a rare complication of the  AstraZeneca and Ad26.COV2.S (Janssen) Covid-19 vaccines </p