scholarly journals Toward a Better “Person–Environment Fit” through Items Calibration of the SIS-C

Author(s):  
Víctor B. Arias ◽  
Antonio M. Amor ◽  
Miguel A. Verdugo ◽  
María Fernández ◽  
Benito Arias ◽  
...  

The Supports Intensity Scale–Children’s Version (SIS-C) is the only available tool to assess extraordinary support needs for children and adolescents with intellectual disability. In past years, several works have proclaimed the need for its ongoing improvement as a measurement instrument. To contribute to this line of research, the goal of this work is to analyze the reliability of the SIS-C and its usefulness to distinguish between different levels of intensity of support needs. To address this, 814 children and adolescents with intellectual disability (M = 11.13 years; SD = 3.41) were assessed using the SIS-C Spanish version. Item response theory analyses were conducted to estimate latent scores and assess measurement quality along the support needs continuum. The SIS-C items showed good overall discrimination and information values, and none showed problems that required their removal or modification. However, all the scales composing the SIS-C showed problems in discerning high levels of intensity of support needs, especially for children and adolescents with severe/profound intellectual disability. This ceiling effect may be an obstacle for both research and practice involving the SIS-C. Implications for research and practice are discussed, and future lines of research for improving the SIS-C are provided.

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 237-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyojeong Seo ◽  
Michael L. Wehmeyer ◽  
Karrie A. Shogren ◽  
Carolyn Hughes ◽  
James R. Thompson ◽  
...  

Given the growing importance of support needs assessment in the field of intellectual disability, it is imperative to develop assessments of support needs whose scores and inferences demonstrate reliability and validity. The purpose of this study was to examine the criterion validity of scores on the Supports Intensity Scale–Children’s Version (SIS-C) by identifying the relation of SIS-C scores to those on the Supports Intensity Scale–Adult Version (SIS-A) for youth on the boundary of appropriateness of the two assessments (ages 16–21). Using data from 142 youth who both completed the SIS-A and SIS-C, we found that parallel support need constructs on the two versions of the SIS have strong associations. In addition, there were similar relations between personal competency (i.e., intelligence and adaptive behavior) and support needs measured by the SIS-A and SIS-C. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 122 (6) ◽  
pp. 511-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Climent Giné ◽  
Ana Luisa Adam ◽  
Josep Font ◽  
Francesc Salvador-Bertran ◽  
Natasha Baqués ◽  
...  

Abstract Data from 949 children and adolescents with intellectual disability ages 5 to 16 for whom the Supports Intensity Scale–Children's Version–Catalan Translation was completed was used, in combination with data from the U.S. standardization sample, to examine measurement invariance and latent differences in the Catalonian sample. Results suggest that the same set of items can be used to measure support needs across U.S. and Catalonia samples and that there are age-related differences in support needs in the Catalonia sample, particularly between children ages 5 to 10 and 11 to 16 years of age. This differs from findings with the U.S. sample, where differences were found in a greater number of age cohorts. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.


Inclusion ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia L. Walker ◽  
Stephanie N. DeSpain ◽  
James R. Thompson ◽  
Carolyn Hughes

Abstract The Support Needs Assessment and Problem-Solving (SNAP) process is intended to assist educational teams in identifying and implementing supports for children with intellectual disability and related developmental disabilities (ID/DD) in K-12 schools. Each phase of the SNAP process is described, including identification of high priority support needs based on information derived from the Supports Intensity Scale–Children's Version (SIS-C). Two case studies of school teams using the SNAP process to identify and implement supports that enhanced opportunities for learning and participation of children in inclusive settings are presented. The importance of understanding children with ID/DD by their support needs and implications for team planning in K-12 schools are discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gudmundur Arnkelsson ◽  
Tryggvi Sigurdsson

Abstract We argue that the construct of support needs as used in the field of intellectual disability (ID) offers applicability for persons with motor disabilities. To explore the validity of the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) in groups other than ID, we studied the criterion validity for persons with motor disability in a population sample. The SIS showed excellent criterion validity, explaining 62–69% of the variance depending on different combinations of variables suggested by the literature. A distinctive pattern of support needs specific to motor disability was evident, supporting the sensitivity of the SIS for this population. In conclusion, the SIS is found to be an appropriate and valid instrument for assessing support needs in persons with motor disabilities.


Author(s):  
Sofie Kuppens ◽  
Goele Bossaert ◽  
Wil Buntinx ◽  
Catherin Molleman ◽  
Ann Van den Abbeele ◽  
...  

Abstract The Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) was developed to provide information on the support needs of persons with intellectual disability. Our aim here was to evaluate the factorial validity of the SIS in a sample of 14,862 persons with intellectual disability. The structure of the instrument as promulgated by the developers was tested and its stability evaluated across gender, age, disability complexity, and disability severity groups. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the originally proposed subscale structure. The six-factor structure yielded strict factorial invariance across gender, age, and disability complexity, whereas invariance of factor configuration was merely established across disability severity groups. Possible explanations and implications of these findings are discussed.


Assessment ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 1307-1319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel A. Verdugo ◽  
Victor B. Arias ◽  
Verónica M. Guillén

Support needs represent the intensity of support required by a person with a disability in order to take part in the activities related to normative human functioning. The Supports Intensity Scale for Children (SIS-C) is possibly the most promising tool for assessing and designing individualized support programs in children with intellectual disability. The SIS-C measures support needs across 61 activities, each one assessed along three methods: type of support, frequency, and daily time during which support is to be given. We investigated the impact of method effects in the SIS-C through a bifactor approach to the analysis of multitrait–multimethod matrices. The results suggest that neither intensity nor frequency scales produced method effects that significantly distorted the measurement of support needs. However, the daily support time method had substantial undesirable effects on five of the seven subscales of support needs. Considerations about support needs assessment and future modifications of the scale are discussed.


2009 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Morin ◽  
Virginie Cobigo

Abstract The definition of intellectual disability, according to the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, includes the assumption that adequate supports should improve a person's functioning. Consequently, support needs have to be assessed to plan services for persons with intellectual disability. The Supports Intensity Scale (SIS; J. R. Thompson et al., 2004) is a standardized instrument for assessing support needs and their intensity. This study was designed to estimate the interrespondent, interinterviewer coefficients of the French version of the SIS. Approximately 40 persons with intellectual disabilities from Quebec, a Canadian province, participated in this study. For each participant, 2 respondents and 2 interviewers were identified and 3 French SIS questionnaires were filled out. Results are presented and discussed compared with those obtained with the original, English-based SIS.


Methodology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 142-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pere J. Ferrando

In the IRT person-fluctuation model, the individual trait levels fluctuate within a single test administration whereas the items have fixed locations. This article studies the relations between the person and item parameters of this model and two central properties of item and test scores: temporal stability and external validity. For temporal stability, formulas are derived for predicting and interpreting item response changes in a test-retest situation on the basis of the individual fluctuations. As for validity, formulas are derived for obtaining disattenuated estimates and for predicting changes in validity in groups with different levels of fluctuation. These latter formulas are related to previous research in the person-fit domain. The results obtained and the relations discussed are illustrated with an empirical example.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Schützwohl

Background: People with an intellectual disability (ID) show a great number and complex constellation of support needs. With respect to the planning of services, it is important to assess needs at the population level. ID services need to know to what extent support needs of clients with mental health problems differ from support needs of clients without any mental health problem.Aims: The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence rates of needs in relevant study groups. Methods: Data was generated from the MEMENTA-Study (“Mental health care for adults with intellectual disability and a mental disorder”). The Camberwell Assessment of Need for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities (CANDID) was used to assess met und unmet support needs. Data was available for n=248 adults with mild to moderate ID.Results: Mean total number of needs and unmet needs was associated with mental health status. However, in most particular areas under study, individuals without significant psychiatric symptoms or any behaviour problem needed as much as often help as individuals with such mental health problems. A higher rate of need for care among study participants with significant psychiatric symptoms or any behaviour problem was mainly found with regard to these specific areas (“minor mental health problems”, “major mental health problems”, “inappropriate behaviour”) or with regard to closely related areas (“safety of others”).Conclusions: Differences in prevalence rates mainly occurred in such areas of need that rather fall under the responsibility of mental health services than under the responsibility of ID services. This has implications for service planning.


Author(s):  
Silvia H. Koller ◽  
Juliana Prates Santana ◽  
Marcela Raffaelli

This chapter aims to present a selective review that can be used to identify some contradictions about street life; once recognized, this knowledge may be used to inform interventions and social policy initiatives. We begin by defining street children and adolescents; examining evidence of vulnerability and resilience in research on the daily lives of street-involved youth; discussing methodological and ethical challenges to advancing understanding of this population; and examining how research with street-involved youth can be used to advance local and global practice and policy. Our aim is to present literature from around the globe, but our discussion is informed by—and draws on—our long-standing program of research and practice in Brazil.


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