Does supported living work for people with severe intellectual disabilities?

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 quality of life for those with a severe intellectual disability and other challenging needs.

Six men with severe intellectual disabilities moved from two residential homes into new-build individual flats. Their quality of life was measured using a battery of assessments looking at; environment, relationships, community participation, interactions, mood interest and pleasure, activities, physical health and challenging behaviour. These measures were taken before the move, immediately after and six months after the move. The views of staff and family carers were also assessed at each stage.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.