Impact of Different Pairings of Respondents on Scores on the Supports Intensity Scale—Adult Version (SIS-A)

This secondary analysis examined the impact of respondent-level factors on scores on the Supports Intensity Scale–Adult Version (SIS-A) to determine if there were patterns of differences in SIS-A scores based on the number of respondents and the pairings of respondents that were included in SIS-A interviews. Results indicated that having fewer respondents led to a greater variability in SIS-A scores whereas having more respondents led to higher mean, overall support need scores. When respondents included an adult with intellectual disability (ID) the mean score was significantly lower. However, there were complex influences of pairing an adult with ID with either a professional or family member on SIS-A scores. Implications for administering and using the SIS-A are discussed.

Examining the Suitability of the List of Indicators Describing Age-Related Typical Support Needs

The list of indicators is a form of training material used for the Supports Intensity Scale—Children’s version (SIS-C). It is aimed at helping interviewers distinguishing between extraordinary and age-related typical support needs in children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) when implementing the SIS-C, and thus improve supports planning. The aim of this study is to adapt and test the list of indicators’ content validity and rating scale’s functioning in Spain. A total of 222 general education teachers reported their agreement with each indicator description using a 5-point rating scale. A total of 353 of 366 indicators showed evidence of content validity, whereas analyses on the rating scale highlighted the necessity of subsuming one of the scale categories within another. The need for developing research-based training materials to develop training programs on the use of the SIS-C to support decision-making concerning supports planning with students with IDD, the relevance of using the latest methodological approaches available when required, and future lines of research are discussed.

The Supports Intensity Scale Children's Version–Icelandic Translation: Examining Measurement Properties

An innovation in developing the Supports Intensity Scale—Children's Version (SIS-C) was the adoption of latent variable modeling approaches to norm development. In regard to translated versions of the SIS-C, the latent modeling approaches provided opportunities to leverage the large standardization sample generated in the United States (n = 4,015) to generate translation-specific norms from data collected on smaller samples in other countries and enable future cross-cultural analyses. In this study, data were collected on children in Iceland who received special education services (as defined and delivered in Iceland), a more diverse group of children with disabilities than the U.S. sample. This provided a unique context to explore cross-cultural differences. Findings indicated the structure of the SIS-C (i.e., seven support need domains organized under an overall support needs construct), was supported in the Icelandic context. However, findings also suggested that supports planning teams in Iceland must consider specific age-related factors that differ from other cultural contexts.

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

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.

Identifying Predictors for Enhanced Outcomes for People With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often rely on Medicaid-funded services and supports to facilitate their daily living. The financial investment for these services is significant, yet little work has been conducted to understand how these investments affect life outcomes. This pilot study used a novel data integration approach to offer initial insights about how Medicaid expenditures relate to outcomes using Medicaid claims data, results of the National Core Indicators consumer survey, and data from the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS). Findings suggested that subpopulations of people with IDD who also had high behavioral needs or high medical needs had significantly higher expenditures than individuals with more typical SIS-assessed support needs. Regression analyses suggested mixed outcomes based on the factors we considered, including a finding that people with IDD who lived in sponsored residential care homes were more likely to engage in inclusive activities in the community than those who lived in larger congregate settings, or those who lived in a family home. Results of this pilot, when brought to scale, will be useful in examining the performance of state IDD service systems over time.

Examining the Impact of Respondent-Level Factors on Scores on the Supports Intensity Scale – Children's Version

This secondary analysis examined the impact of respondent-level factors on scores on the Supports Intensity Scale–Children's Version (SIS-C) for children and youth with intellectual disability to determine if there were any significant differences in the SIS-C scores by different respondent pairs when considering children's age, intellectual functioning level, and adaptive behavior level. Results indicated whenever a pair of respondents included a teacher or a paraprofessional, the support needs scores were lower than when the pair included a family member. Moreover, there was a significant interaction effect across respondent pairing, child age, and child intellectual functioning levels as well as across respondent pairing, child age, and child adaptive behavior levels. Implications for administration and use of the SIS-C are provided.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Evaluation of Psychometric Properties of Persian Version of Supports Intensity Scale among Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Purpose: This study was designed to translate and assess the psychometric properties of Supports Intensity Scale among adults with intellectual and developmental disability in Ahvaz and Tehran, Iran.Method: The cross-sectional study was carried out in two stages. The first stage consisted of the forward-backward translation of Supports Intensity Scale - Adult Version) SIS-A(. In the second stage, 197 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities were recruited in order to assess the internal consistency and test-retest reliability, concurrent and content validity of SIS-A. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to approve the seven-factor model of the instrument.Results: The intra-class correlation coefficient values varied between 0.85 and 0.99 (very good to excellent). All subscales of the SIS-A showed Cronbach’s alpha above 0.70. Correlation coefficient between SIS-A and Barthel index was about -0.65, which shows excellent concurrent validity of SIS-A. The findings showed SIS-A had high ability to discriminate between groups with different IQ (p<0.05). There was no significant correlation between SIS-A and the age of participants (p>0.05). The result of CFA confirmed that the seven-factor model of SIS-A is the fittest pattern for SIS-A.Conclusion: The results indicated that the Persian version of SIS-A is a valid and reliable instrument to assess function and disability among people with intellectual and developmental disability.