The impact of assistive technology and environmental interventions on function and living situation status with people who are ageing with developmental disabilities

@article{citeulike:2211417, abstract = {Purpose: A longitudinal study of 109 people with developmental disabilities, age 35 and older, was done to study the additive impact of mid to later life assistive technology and environmental interventions (AT-EI) on function and living situation status. All subjects were trying to transition out of institutional settings to community settings. Method: Functional status were measured at two times (Time 1 baseline and Time 2 an average of three years post intervention) on 32 functional activities under two conditions: without AT (person only) and with AT (environment adjusted). Rasch analysis was performed to convert ordinal functional scores to equal interval measures, with 95\&\#037; confidence intervals computed to compare differences in function, with and without AT, across time. Results: Results indicated that over 70\&\#037; of subjects had better function with AT versus without AT at both time points. Over time, function did not change when rated without AT; however, when rated with AT, 13.6\&\#037; had better function at Time 2. Subjects living in the community at Time 2 had significantly higher functional scores as compared to subjects in institutions, regardless of AT condition. Additional quantitative and qualitative data on AT-EI use, needs, and barriers and supports to its integration into everyday activities are reported. Conclusions: Results suggest a beneficial impact of later life AT-EI assessment and programming for people who are ageing with developmental disabilities, and qualitatively point to the influence of the social and physical living context upon AT-EI use and relationship to community living decisions long term.}, author = {Hammel, J. }, citeulike-article-id = {2211417}, keywords = {qualitative}, month = {January}, posted-at = {2008-01-09 16:50:41}, priority = {2}, title = {The impact of assistive technology and environmental interventions on function and living situation status with people who are ageing with developmental disabilities}, url = {http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/tandf/tids/2002/00000024/F0030001/art00010} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:2211417 L3 - citeulike-article-id:2211417 TI - The impact of assistive technology and environmental interventions on function and living situation status with people who are ageing with developmental disabilities N2 - Purpose: A longitudinal study of 109 people with developmental disabilities, age 35 and older, was done to study the additive impact of mid to later life assistive technology and environmental interventions (AT-EI) on function and living situation status. All subjects were trying to transition out of institutional settings to community settings. Method: Functional status were measured at two times (Time 1 baseline and Time 2 an average of three years post intervention) on 32 functional activities under two conditions: without AT (person only) and with AT (environment adjusted). Rasch analysis was performed to convert ordinal functional scores to equal interval measures, with 95% confidence intervals computed to compare differences in function, with and without AT, across time. Results: Results indicated that over 70% of subjects had better function with AT versus without AT at both time points. Over time, function did not change when rated without AT; however, when rated with AT, 13.6% had better function at Time 2. Subjects living in the community at Time 2 had significantly higher functional scores as compared to subjects in institutions, regardless of AT condition. Additional quantitative and qualitative data on AT-EI use, needs, and barriers and supports to its integration into everyday activities are reported. Conclusions: Results suggest a beneficial impact of later life AT-EI assessment and programming for people who are ageing with developmental disabilities, and qualitatively point to the influence of the social and physical living context upon AT-EI use and relationship to community living decisions long term. KW - qualitative AU - Hammel, J UR - http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/tandf/tids/2002/00000024/F0030001/art00010 ER -