Premium
RESIDENT BEHAVIOUR AND STAFF INTERACTION WITH PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AND SERIOUSLY CHALLENGING BEHAVIOUR IN RESIDENTIAL SERVICES
Author(s) -
Felce David,
Lowe Kathy,
Blackman Derek
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
mental handicap research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1468-3148
pISSN - 0952-9608
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-3148.1995.tb00162.x
Subject(s) - challenging behaviour , psychology , focus group , constructive , intellectual disability , group home , social relation , developmental psychology , social psychology , sociology , psychiatry , process (computing) , anthropology , computer science , operating system
The behaviour of 16 residents with severe intellectual disabilities and severely challenging behaviour and the interactions they received from staff were observed. Eight people lived in traditional hospitals and eight in community settings. The two groups were individually matched by adaptive ability. Differences in the occurrence of various categories of staff/resident interaction and resident activity between die two groups were not statistically significant. There was some indication that interaction and engagement in activity were improved in those community settings which were genuinely small and based on ordinary housing. However, a more striking finding for all residents was their lack of constructive occupation and the low level of assistance given by staff to help individuals participate more. Although generally responsive to the social overtures of residents, staff were otherwise not found to have an evident focus on encouraging resident engagement in activity. Two case studies are presented which, with other recent research, point to the impact which the content and focus of staff attention can have on resident activity patterns. Comparison to research on people with less severe challenging behaviour supports the contention that individuals with the most severe challenging behaviours tend to lead more impoverished lives.