Introduction

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) including Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) often face serious transportation challenges that impede healthcare access, community participation, and employment opportunities. Travel training, which makes use of one-on-one instruction, may help people with IDD overcome transportation barriers. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a comprehensive travel training program on the travel skills of individuals with IDD.

Methods

Participants were a convenience sample of all individuals with IDD (n = 87) who received travel training from the Kennedy Center in 2016 and 2017. Pre- and post-test scores on the Progressive Evaluation of Travel Skills, as well as primary mode(s) of public transportation used, purpose of use, and number of training sessions were recorded in a secure database. Data was de-identified which involved a process of removing any personally identifiable information. A secondary analysis was completed to test the effect of travel training on transportation skill acquisition by using multilevel analyses. Specifically, the effects of condition (Intellectual Disability (ID) without ASD, ID and ASD, ASD without ID), time (pre-training, post-training), and condition x time interactions on transportation skill T-scores were analyzed.

Results

Participants were 69 men and 18 women with IDD and/or ASD (mean age = 23.6). Trainees made statistically significant gains on the competencies needed for independent travel. A significant condition x time (training) interaction was observed. Prior to training, people with ID (with and without ASD) had less developed travel skills than those with ASD (and no ID). Upon completion of the training, those with ID made larger gains in travel skills than those with ASD/no ID in which both groups had comparable skill levels.

Conclusions

The results of this study provide preliminary support for the use of a structured and comprehensive travel training program to improve overall travel skills needed for public transportation.

中文翻译：

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对智障和发展性残疾人的公共交通培训计划的初步评估：简短报告

介绍

包括自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）在内的智障和发育障碍（IDD）的人经常面临严重的交通挑战，阻碍了医疗保健，社区参与和就业机会。利用一对一指导的旅行培训可以帮助IDD克服交通障碍。这项研究的目的是研究全面的旅行培训计划对IDD个人旅行技能的影响。

方法

参与者是2016年和2017年在肯尼迪中心接受旅行培训的所有IDD（n = 87）个人的便利样本。旅行技能渐进评估以及主要模式的测试前和测试后分数）所使用的公共交通工具，使用目的和培训次数已记录在安全的数据库中。数据被取消标识，涉及删除任何个人身份信息的过程。通过使用多层次分析，完成了次级分析，以测试旅行培训对运输技能获取的影响。具体来说，分析了条件（没有ASD的智力残疾（ID），ID和ASD，没有ID的ASD），时间（训练前，训练后）和条件x时间交互对运输技能T评分的影响。

结果

参加者为IDD和/或ASD的69名男性和18名女性（平均年龄= 23.6）。受训人员在独立旅行所需的能力上取得了统计上的重大收获。观察到显着条件x时间（培训）交互作用。在进行培训之前，具有ID的人（有和没有ASD）的旅行技能要比具有ASD（没有ID的人）的发展。培训结束后，具有ID的人比具有ASD /无ID的人在旅行技能方面的收益要大得多，在ASD /没有ID的情况下，两组人的技能水平相当。

结论

这项研究的结果为使用结构化和全面的旅行培训计划提供了初步的支持，以提高公共交通所需的总体旅行技能。