Does supported living work for people with severe intellectual disabilities?
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/AMHID-02-2015-0006 |
| Date | 02 November 2015 |
| Pages | 338-351 |
| Published date | 02 November 2015 |
| Author | Elizabeth Marlow,Nina Walker |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Learning & intellectual disabilities |
Does supported living work for people
with severe intellectual disabilities?
Elizabeth Marlow and Nina Walker
Elizabeth Marlow is Clinical
Psychologist at Merton Team
for People with Learning
Disabilities and Complex
Needs, Merton Civic Centre,
London, UK.
Nina Walker is Assistant
Psychologist at Islington
Memory Service, Collingwood
Business Centre, London, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to look at whether a move to a supported living model of care from
traditional residential group homes could improve the qualityof life for those with a severe intellectual disability
and other challenging needs.
Design/methodology/approach –Six men with severe intellectual disabilities moved from two residential
homes into new-build individualflats. Their quality of life was measuredusing a battery of assessmentslooking
at; environment, relationships, community participation, interactions, mood interest and pleasure, activities,
physicalhealth and challenging behaviour.These measureswere taken before the move, immediatelyafter and
six months after themove. The views of staff and family carers werealso assessed at each stage.
Findings –The move had a positive effect on the tenants in that it caused an improvement in their mood and
a decrease in their challenging behaviours. Further improvements could be made in the tenant’s quality of life
by introducing more activities. The initial concerns of family members about the move decreased over time.
However staff found the changes to their working practices stressful.
Research limitations/implications –The study was a small scale one because of the small number of
tenants. The tenants were unable to express their own views because of their limited communication abilities
so a combination of direct observation and indirect measures were used.
Practical implications –In the light of the Winterbourne view report by Stephen Bubb this study looks at the
impact on quality of life of a move to supported living for a group of people with complex and challenging
needs who might otherwise be placed in an out of borough placement similar to Winterbourne view.
Social implications –The study also looks at the impact of such a move on the family members of the
individuals and on the staff who had to change their working practices to adapt to both a new working
environment and model of care.
Originality/value –This study also looks at the impact of a model of supported living for people with severe
intellectual disabilities and complex needs rather than those with mild intellectual disabilities. This is
particularly important in the post Winterbourne view climate when the authors need to look carefully at
positive alternative models of care for these individuals.
Keywords Quality of life, Resettlement, Supported living, Challenging behaviour,
Severe intellectual disabilities, Winterbourne view
Paper type Research paper
An evaluation of the impact on the quality of life of six men with severe intellectual disabilities who
moved from shared residential homes to individual flats
Literature review
The closure of large scale institutions for people with intellectual disabilities over many years since
the 1970s led to a gradual dispersal of people with intellectual disabilities into residential care
homes either around the community or on hospital campuses. Many studies have been carried
out to evaluate whether there was any improvement in individual’s quality of life as result of these
changes. A recent review of these studies (Bertelli et al., 2013) noted that quality of life is a key
Received 4 February 2015
Revised 4 February 2015
Accepted 9 April 2015
PAGE338
j
ADVANCESIN MENTAL HEALTH AND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES
j
VOL. 9 NO. 6 2015, pp.338-351, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2044-1282 DOI 10.1108/AMHID-02-2015-0006
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