A retrospective study of past graduates of a residential life skills program for youth with physical disabilities.
Background Young people with physical disabilities experience issues regarding employment, schooling, independent living and establishing meaningful personal relationships. A lack of life skills has been recognized as an important factor contributing to this lag. The Independence Program ( TIP) is a...
| Published in: | Child: Care, Health & Development Vol. 41; no. 3; pp. 374 - 384 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
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Wiley-Blackwell
May2015
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=103788091&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 103788091 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 03051862 6NX jtl: Child: Care, Health & Development issn: 03051862 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: May2015 vid: 41 iid: 3 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell place: Malden, Massachusetts artinfo: ui: 103788091 102038448 10.1111/cch.12196 NLM25251776 103788091 ppf: 374 ppct: 10 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P tig: atl: A retrospective study of past graduates of a residential life skills program for youth with physical disabilities. aug: au: Kingsnorth, S. King, G. McPherson, A. Jones-Galley, K. affil: Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital; Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto sug: subj: Residential Care In Adolescence Children with Disabilities Rehabilitation, Pediatric Activities of Daily Living Self Care Human Funding Source Retrospective Design Internet Questionnaires Male Female Adult Adolescence Ontario Data Analysis Software Self Report Scales Clinical Assessment Tools Skill Acquisition Adult: 19-44 years Adolescent: 13-18 years Male Female ab: Background Young people with physical disabilities experience issues regarding employment, schooling, independent living and establishing meaningful personal relationships. A lack of life skills has been recognized as an important factor contributing to this lag. The Independence Program ( TIP) is a short-term residential life skills program that aims to equip youth with the foundational life skills required to assume adult roles. This study retrospectively examined the achievements, skills acquired and program attributions of youth and young adults who took part in this three-week immersive teen independence program over a 20-year period. Methods A total of 162 past graduates were invited to take part, with 78 doing so (a 48% response rate). These past graduates completed an online survey assessing objective outcomes such as employment and independent living; subjective outcomes such as feeling in control and living meaningful lives; and reflections on skills acquired, opportunities experienced and attributions to TIP. Results The majority of respondents were female (71%), had a diagnosis of cerebral palsy (55%) and ranged from 20 to 35 years of age (92%). Despite a range of outcomes related to the achievement of adult roles, high levels of life satisfaction and overall quality of life were reported. Nearly every respondent reported using the skills they learned at the program in their lives afterwards and a high percentage attributed the acquisition and consolidation of core life skills to participating in this intensive immersive program. Conclusions Although causality cannot be assumed, respondents reflected very positively on the opportunities provided by TIP to develop their independent living and life skills, extend their social networks and understand their strengths and weaknesses. Such findings validate the importance of targeted skill development to assist young people with physical disabilities in attaining their life goals and encourage focused investigations of key features in program design. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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