Enhancing staff attitudes, knowledge and skills in supporting the self-determination of adults with intellectual disability in residential settings in Hong Kong: A pretest-posttest comparison group design

Background: The ecological perspective recognizes the critical role that is played by rehabilitation personnel in helping people with intellectual disability (ID) to exercise self-determination, particularly in residential settings. In Hong Kong, the authors developed the first staff training programme of its kind to strengthen the competence of personnel in this area. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of staff training in enhancing residential staff's attitudes, knowledge and facilitation skills in assisting residents with ID to exercise self-determination. Methods: A pretest-posttest comparison group design was adopted. Thirty-two participants in an experimental group attended a six-session staff training programme. A 34-item self-constructed scale was designed and used for measuring the effectiveness of the staff training. Results: The results showed that the experimental group achieved statistically significant positive changes in all domains, whereas no significant changes were found in the comparison group. Conclusions: The findings provided initial evidence of the effectiveness of staff training that uses an interactional attitude-knowledge-skills model for Chinese rehabilitation personnel. The factors that contributed to its effectiveness were discussed and recommendations for future research were made. © Journal Compilation © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.postprin

The experience of mothers supporting self‐determination of adult sons and daughters with intellectual disability

Background: The right of people with disability to be self‐determining, to live a life of their choosing, is increasingly recognized and promoted. For adults with intellectual disability, support to enable self‐determination may be required. This is often provided by family, yet little is understood about the experience of providing such support. Methods: An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of eight individual, semi‐structured interviews with mothers was conducted, to understand the meaning given to their experience of supporting self‐determination of their adult son or daughter with intellectual disability. Results: Three superordinate themes were identified: (a) support context; (b) continuum of support roles; and (c) mother's personal concerns. Conclusion: Mothers of adults with intellectual disability experience an ongoing sense of responsibility to balance competing rights and concerns as they support self‐determination. This complex, interdependent relationship results in roles that may facilitate, guide, influence and at times restrict choice and control

Devices used for shoulder subluxation in a stroke population: a systematic review

Aim: This systematic review aims to examine the current literature for the common devices used to manageshoulder subluxation following stroke and whether the effectiveness of these devices is short or long-ter

The importance of the relational needs of people with learning disabilities in the promotion of self‐determination

People with learning disabilities may need to receive support from social care professionals to make choices and to change things in their life. They may need to receive advice, but sometimes they prefer not to receive advice. Professionals must trust them when they try something new. It is important that professionals know what people with learning disabilities want and need to support them in a better way. It is important that they become aware of the importance to express what they want and what they need. Abstract: Background: Intervention to increase self‐determination of people with learning disabilities is a major issue for social care practices. This study examines relational needs of people with learning disabilities regarding self‐determination in the context of the relationships they share with social care professionals. Method: We held focus group discussions to explore the relational needs of 10 residents and 10 educators at three facilities for people with learning disabilities located in the French part of Switzerland. Results: Relational needs expressed by participants with learning disabilities concern three distinct stages of the self‐determination process (pre‐choice, post‐choice and goal achievement). Conclusion: They suggest the importance of the relational quality of interventions aimed to enhance self‐determination of people with learning disabilities