Mindful Adaptations for Young Patients and Adults with Mild Cognitive Disabilities

Biofeedback ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 58-62
Author(s):  
Jonathon Sikorski ◽  
Olivia Hernandez-Gonzalez
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Young Patients ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Present Moment ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Younger Patients ◽  
Medical Interventions ◽  
Mindfulness Skills ◽  
Communication Challenges ◽  
Adults With Intellectual Disabilities

Young patients often encounter behavioral and communication challenges when interacting with adults. Adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) experience similar difficulties. There is a need to develop strategies that teach young patients and adults with intellectual disabilities practical and applicable mindfulness skills to either augment or support other behavioral or medical interventions. Biofeedback is a useful tool to teach these populations ways to increase their internal awareness of how emotions influence physiological sensations, while mindfulness helps them to focus on the present moment to control their emotions. This article presents the cases of Max and Robin to illustrate how mindfulness and biofeedback interventions can be adapted for younger patients and adults with ID in clinical settings. Clinicians used tangible visuals and overemphasized gestures to facilitate the understanding of our patients. Following these strategies, patients were able to understand changes in their physiological and emotional responses using biofeedback and mindfulness.

scholarly journals Communication and cross-examination in court for children and adults with intellectual disabilities: A systematic review

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 366-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne Morrison ◽  
Rachel Forrester-Jones ◽  
Jill Bradshaw ◽  
Glynis Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Experimental Methodology ◽  
English Court ◽  
Communication Challenges ◽  
Adults With Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Communication Needs ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Court Of Appeal ◽  
Examination Process

Courts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have identified children and adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) as vulnerable witnesses. The call from the English Court of Appeal is for advocates to adjust questioning during cross-examination according to individual needs. This review systematically examined previous empirical studies with the aim of delineating the particular communication needs of children and adults with ID during cross-examination. Studies utilising experimental methodology similar to examination/cross-examination processes, or which assessed the communication of actual cross-examinations in court were included. A range of communication challenges were highlighted, including: suggestibility to leading questions and negative feedback; acquiescence; accuracy; memory and understanding of court language. In addition, a number of influencing factors were identified, including: age; IQ level; question styles used. This review highlights the need for further research using cross-examination methodology and live practice, that take into consideration the impact on communication of the unique environment and situation of the cross-examination process.

Public Speaking Coaching for Adult Special Olympics Athletes

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Mary K. Fagan ◽  
Patil M. Malatian
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Public Speaking ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Special Olympics ◽  
Community Interactions ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Communication Challenges ◽  
Speaking Skills

Purpose Individuals with intellectual disabilities often face communication challenges that can impact verbal communication, social interactions, and public speaking effectiveness. These challenges include decreased speech intelligibility, eye contact, and storytelling organization. The purpose of this study was to investigate the benefit of a 4.5-month public speaking coaching program for adult Special Olympics athletes with intellectual disabilities. Method Using a pre–post design, four athletes and their parents or caregivers completed questionnaires that rated the athletes' public speaking skills in 10 areas relevant for effective public speaking before and after the 4.5-month program. Graduate students in communication sciences and disorders worked with the adults on individualized goals identified from a preliminary speech and the self-report questionnaires. Differences in pre- and post-program response ratings and pre- and post-program speech behaviors were evaluated. Results Participation in the program resulted in positive changes in the athletes' public speaking ratings and behaviors, as measured by the athletes' and familiar-listeners' pre- and post-program questionnaires and the athletes' observed public speaking performance. Conclusions The results support the benefit of individualized coaching in public speaking programs. Because public speaking skills are important for communicating effectively in community interactions more broadly, the program also has potential relevance for use in clinical settings and education programs for adults and adolescents with and without intellectual disabilities.

scholarly journals Reported communication challenges for adult witnesses with intellectual disabilities giving evidence in court

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 243-263
Author(s):  
Joanne Morrison ◽  
Jill Bradshaw ◽  
Glynis Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Experimental Methodology ◽  
Communication Partner ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Communication Difficulties ◽  
Communication Challenges ◽  
Adults With Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Alternative Question ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Court Process

Communication plays a key role in a witness's ability to give evidence and participate in the court process. Adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) can be negatively impacted by communication difficulties such as: limitations in recall abilities; suggestibility to leading questions; difficult question styles used by advocates; and unfamiliar language used within the court setting. Most research carried out on communication challenges for adults with ID, when giving evidence, has involved participants in psychology-based experimental methodology. In this study 19 court reports assessing actual witnesses (complainants and defendants) with ID, written by Registered Intermediaries in Northern Ireland, were analysed. A wide range of communication difficulties were identified for the adult witnesses. Difficulties resulting from communication used by their communication partner (typically the advocate in a court setting) were also described. A rich model of the challenges for both partners, in giving evidence and in cross-examination, is presented, extending previous research. This study highlights the need for research within UK courts to assess: how witnesses with ID are being questioned; the effectiveness of changes made to the court process to enhance communication; the impact of the court process and environment on communication and alternative question styles for advocates to use.

Aging in Adults With Intellectual Disabilities

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-43
Author(s):  
Tracy Lazenby-Paterson ◽  
Hannah Crawford
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Swallowing Disorders ◽  
Speech And Language ◽  
Adults With Intellectual Disabilities

The literature recognizes the important role of the Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP) in the treatment of communication and swallowing disorders in children with Intellectual Disabilities (ID). However there is also a need to emphasize the importance of specialist SLP input across the lifespan of people with ID, and to recognize the specific, ongoing and changing communication and swallowing needs of adults with ID as they get older.

Measuring Effectiveness

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Stegenga
Keyword(s):  
Outcome Measures ◽  
Relative Risk Reduction ◽  
Drug Approval ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Risk Difference ◽  
General Context ◽  
Measuring Instruments ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Medical Interventions ◽  
Regulatory Standards

There are three methodological challenges to measuring the effectiveness of medical interventions: the choice of good measuring instruments, the use of appropriate analytic measures, and the use of a reliable method of extrapolating measures from an experimental context to a more general context. In practice each of these challenges contributes to overestimating the effectiveness of medical interventions. These challenges suggest corrective principles. The instruments employed in clinical research should measure patient-relevant and disease-specific parameters. Effectiveness always should be measured and reported using absolute outcome measures (such as ‘risk difference’), and we should employ caution when interpreting relative outcome measures (such as ‘relative risk reduction’). Extrapolating from research settings to clinical settings should more rigorously take into account possible ways in which interventions can fail to be effective in a target population. Current regulatory standards for drug approval are insufficient to manage these problems of measurement.

External sources promoting resilience in adults with intellectual disabilities: A systematic literature review

2020 ◽  
pp. 174462952096194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Femke Scheffers ◽  
Xavier Moonen ◽  
Eveline van Vugt
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Network Support ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Face ◽  
External Sources ◽  
Adults With Intellectual Disabilities

Background: Persons with an intellectual disability are at increased risk of experiencing adversities. The current study aims at providing an overview of the research on how resilience in adults with intellectual disabilities, in the face of adversity, is supported by sources in their social network. Method: A literature review was conducted in the databases Psycinfo and Web of Science. To evaluate the quality of the included studies, the Mixed Method Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used. Results: The themes: “ positive emotions,” “ network acceptance,” “ sense of coherence” and “ network support,” were identified as sources of resilience in the social network of the adults with intellectual disabilities. Conclusion: The current review showed that research addressing sources of resilience among persons with intellectual disabilities is scarce. In this first overview, four sources of resilience in the social network of people with intellectual disabilities were identified that interact and possibly strengthen each other.

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