Abstract
Quality of life and choice availability remain critical aspects of new treatment programs for persons with mental retardation. The present study preliminarily investigated a brief training program for staff members to increase choice availability in living environments. A program of education, modeling, role-play, and feedback was used over a 5–week period for staff members in two intermediate care facilities. Two other facilities served as controls. Results indicated significant improvement in overall level of choice availability from preintervention to follow up for the treatment but not the control group. Contrary to expectations, however, levels of adaptive and maladaptive behavior remained unchanged. This study indicates that a cost-effective training program may be useful for enhancing choice availability in the short-term, but that other choice-oriented procedures may be necessary to generate further changes in effective behavior.
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McKnight, T.J., Kearney, C.A. Staff Training Regarding Choice Availability for Persons with Mental Retardation: A Preliminary Analysis. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities 13, 1–10 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026532631438
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026532631438