Thesis (M.A.)--University of Canterbury, 2006. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-73). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.) University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on July 31, 2007) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Idaho, 2006. / Abstract. "March 2006." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 232-241). Also available online in PDF format.

Research paper (M.A.) -- Cardinal Stritch College -- Milwaukee, 1969. / A research paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Education (Education of Mentally Handicapped). Includes bibliographical references (p. 26-27).

The quality of life for people with learning disabilities was examined for 50 people leaving hospital to live in a range of community residences and for 50 people remaining in hospital. Individuals were followed up for up to 30 months at six monthly intervals. The social validity of quality of life assessment was examined by comparing the importance of a number of service objectives to people with and without learning disabilities. This then informed the development of two measures used to assess aspects of quality of life. A range of measures were employed to address both objective and subjective dimensions of quality of life. Five main areas were identified and examined in two studies - competence and personal growth; health and well-being; quality of care; engagement in activity and staff resident interactions. The issues reflecting some of the difficulties in assessing subjective states of people with learning disabilities are discussed. Overall there was some relatively small changes in the areas of competence and personal growth, quality of care and staff interactions for people moving from hospital to live in the community. The changes tended to occur within six months of moving with little improvement thereafter. In general, there was no change for the people remaining in hospital. Implications for the detailed examination of the effects of deinstitutionalisation are discussed.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF JACQUELINE BRIDGET GILLIAM, for the Master of Science degree in BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS AND THERAPY presented on October 26, 2014, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: IMPLEMENTATION OF PEAK RELATIONAL TRAINING SYSTEM FOR ADULTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Mark R. Dixon The first experiment sought to determine if a relationship did exist between two empirical assessment tools, the Inventory for Client and Agency Planning (ICAP) and the Promoting the Emergence of Advanced knowledge (PEAK) Relational Training System when assessing adults with developmental disabilities. The ICAP is tool that offers a service score for levels of support needed to adequately support the individual and is also used to determine rate determination for services. The tool does not offer suggestions for programming or teaching the individual skills in which they are lacking. The PEAK Relational Training System does offer an assessment and programming to train skills that an individual is unable to complete. The second experiment sought to determine if adults with developmental disabilities could learn new skills by using the PEAK Relational Training System. Assessments were conducted with 20 individuals with developmental disabilities and a relationship between the two assessment tools was found. Additionally, three individuals with disabilities were trained skills from nine programs in the PEAK Relational Training System and evidence of learning was shown in eight of the nine programs.

This study explored the ways in which the type of language used can influence attitudes about people with disabilities. The extent to which positive, neutral, or negative language about different disabilities influences able-bodied people's attitudes about those with disabilities was tested. This study examined the impact of language on the ways that different types of disabilities are perceived by exposing participants to one of three different language types about the disabled through vignettes. Participants were then asked to rank their preferences for roommates based on the person having one of five different disabilities. Overall attitudes towards the disabled did not differ based on the type of language participants were exposed to, but the Behaviors sub-scale of the Multidimensional Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons Scale (MAS; Findler, Vilchinsky, & Werner, 2007) showed significantly different scores for the negative (M = 19.79) and positive (M = 23.00) language conditions. Preferences for roommates were ranked differently based on the type of disability described in the vignette. The types of disabilities were ranked in the following order, from most to least preferable: (a) health condition (diabetes), (b) learning disability (dyslexia) (c) mental illness (PTSD), (d) deafness, and (e) mobility impairment (cerebral palsy).

Pas de résumé en français / Pas de résumé en anglais

This multiple case study describes students who are highly emotionally competent yet have learning disabilities. The study sheds light on how such students perceive their educational experience and begins to answer inter-related questions, such as how emotional strengths assist with learning disabilities. A multiple case study design was used. The participant group ranged from 11 to 16 years of age and came from two separate schools which actively work with students diagnosed with learning disabilities. The study was divided into two phases. In the first phase, the Mayer—Salovey—Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test-Youth Version (MSCEIT-YV) was given to students in the two participating classes. The two students from each class who achieved the highest scores on the MSCEIT-YV were then asked to participate in the second phase of the study. Here, the researcher conducted observations of the participants within the school environment. Additionally, the participants attended a semi-structured interview, with interview questions based on the MSCEIT-YV and school related scenarios. Themes that emerged were then analyzed and compared within and between cases as well as with emotional intelligence research. Case study descriptions emerged from this analysis and a brief follow up interview was conducted with one family member and the participating student as a means of sharing and verifying findings. Participants revealed varying ability with emotional intelligence. However, all students demonstrated strong abilities with the ‘Strategic Emotional Reasoning’ Skills associated with Mayer, Salovey and Caruso’s (2004) theory of emotional intelligence. Moreover, all students showed a strong ability to use their emotional intelligence to improve academic functioning, with one student in particular displaying outstanding abilities and insights into emotional intelligence. The study contributes to our understanding of the complexity of ability and disability that can exist within students diagnosed with learning disabilities; this understanding, in turn, may be reflected in how these students are perceived and understood by researchers and teachers alike. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

This research examined the prevalence, differential treatment and demographic and potential risk factors between two groups of offenders with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) and Intellectual Vulnerabilities (IV) and a non-ID/IV group managed by Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements in the South East of England. The sample included 250 offenders, aged between 15 and 70 years, 9 women and 241 men who were managed by level 2 and 3 MAPPA. Two studies were conducted. Study One - The prevalence of the IV group was 25.6%. There were no significant differences between the number of external controls placed on the IV and non-IV groups. There was a significantly greater amount of external controls (police lead orders) placed on the ID group than the non-ID group. The IV group was over 5 times more likely to have language deficits than the non-IV group and twice as likely to have been in care as a child. When controlled for language deficits the IV group were twice as likely to have social skills deficits. Study Two – The MAPPA minutes and files relating to the IV group identified in Study One were examined in more detail. The central issues relating to the IV group were analysed using Thematic Analysis. The main themes and sub themes identified were ‘Intellectual Vulnerability’ and sub themes ‘Mental Health’ and ‘Diversity Considerations,’ ‘Early Life Experiences’ which had sub themes of ‘Abusive Experiences’ and ‘Schooling/Education’ and finally ‘Offending Behaviour’ with the sub themes ‘Substance Misuse’ and ‘Victims Known or Vulnerable.’ The research identifies the issues of diagnosing intellectual disabilities/vulnerabilities accurately and the impact this has on reliable prevalence rates and comparisons. Some recommendations for good practice in working with such offenders within MAPPA are made.