Background: Persons with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) increasingly outlive their parents. Therefore, we designed a structured group conversation to support family members and care professionals in exploring together how parental roles may be taken over by others when necessary. Method: We conducted a mixed methods study,…

Background: Research shows that up to 43% of disability support workers (DSWs) report poor psychosocial work outcomes (e.g., stress, job burnout, low job satisfaction). This study examined whether the job demand-control-(support) model offers a valid explanation of DSW burnout and work engagement. Method: 325 DSWs completed online measures of…

Most people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) have limited social contact and it is unclear what is done to maintain or increase these contacts. Individual support planning (ISP) can be used in the systematic enhancement of social contacts. This study analyses the content of ISPs with respect to the social contacts of…

Using an autoethnographic approach, this dissertation explores the path taken by a person who serves a unique population of individuals--people who not only have more than one disability, but in addition, are unable to communicate using verbal (spoken) speech. Starting with a recap of the history of the use and subsequent oppression of American…

Many children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) now reach adulthood. The aim of this study was to elicit parents' experiences with the transfer from pediatric to adult medical care. A convenience sample of 131 Dutch parents of young people with PIMD (16--26 years) completed a web-based questionnaire. Twenty-two percent of…

Described is the comprehensive residential program for deaf multihandicapped students at the California School for the Deaf, Riverside. (CL)

Evaluation of Play Unit for the Severely Handicaped (PUSH) designed for the living room of a residential area used by 16 severely retarded multiply handicapped persons revealed that the impact of the unit was individualized and diverse, and that the responsiveness of the environemt's components appeared to be important. (CL)

Data were collected regarding the work performed by houseparents in residential schools for the visually/multiply handicapped. Of the 519 usable critical incidents reported, the most frequently reported group was health care activities followed by discipline tasks. (CL)

Medical records of residents of a facility for persons with mental retardation from January 1, 1978, through December 31, 1997, were analyzed to identify incidence of sudden unexpected death for 180 individuals with and 125 without comorbid epilepsy. Eighty deaths were identified, with 55 occurring in those with epilepsy. (Contains 15 references.)…

A program was adapted to serve hearing impaired children with emotional and behavior disorders. The residential program currently serves 10 students with a treatment staff that includes therapists and educators. (CL)

Analysis of statewide (Oklahoma) survey data revealed that 22.5% of individuals with mental retardation who were served by the Oklahoma mental retardation system were receiving antipsychotic medication. Higher levels of medication use were found in institutional settings and Intermediate Care Facility settings. (Author/DB)

All 1,101 clients with mental retardation residing in about 120 group homes of a residential service agency were surveyed on one date for usage of psychotropic medication. Findings indicated 27 percent had received one or more psychotropic drugs for behavioral or emotional disorders. Diagnoses such as psychosis and mood disorder and certain target…

Overtime pay was used to encourage staff personnel of a state institution to carry out an intensive around-the-clock program to reduce the self injurious behaviors of a severely retarded and deaf adult. Contingent use of restraints, in conjunction with an intensive program of differential reinforcement of other behavior and differential…