Intellectual Disabilities Research Project Assignment

Intellectual Disabilities Research Project
Your Name
Your Institution of Affiliation
December 8, 2017
Abstract
Over the years, the debate on mental health and its effects on the family and its structure has been widely debated. On one hand, some studies show that having a family member or a next of kin with issues in mental health presents negative repercussions for the member of the family, when it comes the attitude and perspectives on the matter. On the other hand, some studies show that these cases creates more cohesion within the family and that taking care of people with intellectual disabilities indeed create a more positive perspective towards them. This provides an important matter for discussion because attitudes towards issues of mental health are also believed to affect the kind of care (home-care or residential) that people afflicted with the receive. In order to study this, the author of this article utilized a qualitative interview of six family members of people with intellectual disabilities from three different families. Particularly, the semi-structured interview was focused on providing a deeper understanding of the relationship between perspectives and attitudes of family members towards intellectual disability, the preferred services, as well as other factors that could affect them. In conclusion, the results showed that despite the differences in attitudes and perspectives, a certain correlation between them and the type of care does not exist. However, it was found that Socio-Economi Status (SES) could somehow affect the preference over one type of care over the other. In the end, while this idea is still contestable, what this suggests is that a need for a much deeper and narrow study is needed for future references.
Table of Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………4
Literature Review………………………………………………………………………………4-8
Characteristics of Individuals Suffering from Intellectual Disabilities………….……5
Intellectual Disabilities & Cognitive Distress…………………………………………6
Services Available to Help Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities……………….7-8
Barriers to Helping Individuals Suffering from an Intellectual Disability………….8-9
Summary….……………………………………………………………………………9
Data & Design…………………………………………………………………………………..8-9
Method………………………………………………………………………………………….9-10
Findings…………………………………………………………………………………………11
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………11-12
References………………………………………………………………………………………13
Appendices…………………………………………………………………………………….14-16
Introduction
The purpose of this research is to explore how the services offered to individuals suffering from an intellectual disability impact their family. Although intellectual disability is a broad term used to describe individuals suffering from a cognitive impairment, the services offered to the individual may improve their functionality (Burack, 2012; Kroess, Rose, and Heer, 2012; Mansel, Ashman, and Macdonald, 2012; McConkey, Kelly, and Craig, 2013). The purpose of this paper is to explore how families with different resources care for a child with intellectual disabilities. This paper will further seek to determine how families feel about their child-care decisions. The paper will rely on interviews from six people (two people from three different families). The design be a contrast of cases, comparing the experiences of three families with different resources. The audience will be academic, as this paper will seek to expand on previous research, exploring the types of services, available to families that have children with intellectual disabilities.
Literature Review
Intellectual disability is a broad term used to describe an individual who suffers from a cognitive impairment. However, there are strong variations in terms of how this cognitive impairment affects the individual. In some cases, Burack (2012) argues that an individual may present mild symptoms of suffering from an intellectual disability. Yet others may present a severe cognitive deficiency that prevents the individual from function in everyday life. The purpose of this review is to investigate how intellectual disabilities affect children, and their families. This review will further seek to identify the different types of services available to families, and how family members perceive the overall usefulness of these services.
Characteristics of Individuals Suffering from Intellectual Disabilities
Over the past few decades, researchers have made great strides in understanding intellectual disabilities. However, Burack (2012) argues that research studying intellectual disabilities remains underdeveloped. As addressed by Burack, the onset of intellectual disabilities, and characteristics associated with each individual disability makes it difficult for researchers to identify trends within this population. Furthermore, Burack argues that few communities openly discuss research opportunities for individual’s suffering from an intellectual disability. The lack of existing research, and generalizability within individual studies makes isolating characteristics of intellectual disabilities difficult.
Although isolating individual characteristics associated with intellectual disabilities is difficult, Burack (2012) argues that genetics and the environment are believed to play a role in the development of an intellectual disability. Specifically, Burack argues that present research has demonstrated that more 200 genes are associated with mental retardation. Yet, the environment in which the individual lives, age in which the intellectual disability onsets, and the services available to the individual are all believed to be environmental factors associated with intellectual disabilities.
Other researchers have looked for more specific characteristics to identify deficiencies in caring for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Dalton & Sweeny (2012) found that many individuals suffering from an intellectual disability also suffered from speech problems. This is problematic, as individuals suffering from severe mental disabilities may not be able to communicate their individual needs. Furthermore, determining how to help an individual with intellectual disabilities, and speech problems is difficult, as assessing the individual’s progress (successes in the individual intervention) may present challenges.
Intellectual Disability & Cognitive Distress
Although intellectual disability is a broad term used to define an individual with impaired cognitive functioning. Kroese, Rose and Heer (2012) argue that many individuals suffering from an intellectual disability suffer from psychological distress. Yet Krosese et. al. further determined that many social service agencies treating individuals with intellectual disabilities do not have adequate training in diagnosing mental illnesses or psychological distress. As a result, many individuals suffering from both intellectual disabilities and psychological distress do not receive treatment.
In further exploring psychological distress and mental illnesses among individuals suffering from intellectual disabilities, Burack (2012) argues that the level of family support and attachment may influence the distress the individual experiences. In assessing previous research, Burack determined that children with intellectual disabilities tended to do better if they had adequate family support, and a healthy attachment style to their parents. Although this finding is aimed at children, Burack argues that social and facial support are critical elements in reducing psychological distress in adults suffering from intellectual disabilities.
Services Available to Help Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities
Determining how to help an individual with an intellectual disability is a difficult prospect. Burack (2012) further concurs in arguing that the needs of the individual need to be
assessed in order to explore what services may be beneficial in helping the individual. Despite this finding, Dalton & Sweeny (2011) argues that intrapersonal relationships tend to enhance the quality of life individuals with intellectual disabilities experience. Although Dalton & Sweeny’s finding is based on a study exploring the effects of intellectual disabilities on adults, Burack provides a similar assessment with children. In conjunction, these findings suggest that social support (intrapersonal relationships) may be a mediating factor in determining the successes of interventions targeting individuals suffering from intellectual disabilities.
The extent of the individual’s disability directly influences the frequency of care they receive. As addressed by Burack (2012) previous studies have demonstrated that families using
and elevated level of formal care are more likely to seek out residential placement for the individual suffering from an intellectual disability. However, Burack further acknowledges that residential care is primarily used for individuals with severe forms of intellectual disabilities. Despite this notion, Mansell, Ashman, and Macdonald (2012) found that the use of residential care for adults with intellectual disabilities is becoming more common than it has been in previous years.
As the use of residential care becomes more common, it is important to isolate characteristics of caregivers (within the residential facility) that help the adult with intellectual disabilities to adapt to his or her surroundings. Kroese et. al. (2013) found that adults with intellectual disabilities looked for certain qualities in caregivers. These qualities centered on the caregiver (in a residential setting) being emotionally warm, talking to the individual, and showing empathy. Yet, Kroese et. al. further found that not all caregivers taking care of individuals suffering from an intellectual disability in a residential setting poses these characteristics.
Barriers to Helping Individuals Suffering from an Intellectual Disability
The treatment measures and services individuals with intellectual disabilities need to increase their functionality tent to vary based on the type of intellectual disability the individual suffers from (Burack, 2012). Despite this variation, Dalton & Sweeny (2011) found that many communities are not prepared to meet the needs of individuals suffering from intellectual disabilities. McConkey, Kelly and Manna (2013) provide a similar assessment in finding that social services offered to individuals with intellectual disabilities are not static. As a result, certain services may be offered in some locations of the country but not others. In assessing the reliability of these interventions, it would be difficult to assess whether the current levels of social services aimed at helping individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Summary
Intellectual disability is a broad term used to describe multiple disorders affecting the individual’s cognitive abilities. Despite this variation, intellectual disabilities can affect every aspect of the individual’s life. This review demonstrated that individuals suffering from intellectual disabilities are more likely to suffer from speech problems and emotional problems. Yet, this review also demonstrated that the main barrier to providing care to this population is the lack of social services available. However, this barrier was further present in exploring the treatment of individuals in a residential setting. This finding suggests that...