ABSTRACT

Connections to supportive adults are essential to well-being for youth with intellectual and or developmental disabilities, yet few interventions have been developed to support connectedness among this population. The purpose of the current qualitative study was to identify strategies for overcoming barriers to implementation and fidelity for one of the few promising interventions developed to support these youth. In this article, we describe the adaptation and implementation of a family search and engagement model called Family Finding for Individuals with Intellectual and or Developmental Disabilities. We also present findings from our analysis of fidelity measures, participant discharge narratives, interviews with staff who administered the intervention, and youths’ other formal and informal supports. Findings pointed to strategies that helped workers overcome systemic, organizational, and individual-level barriers. We conclude this article with a discussion of study implications and limitations.

摘要

与支持性成年人的联系对于有智力和/或发育障碍的青年的福祉至关重要，但很少有干预措施来支持这一人群之间的联系。当前定性研究的目的是确定为支持这些青年而开发的少数​​有希望的干预措施之一克服实施障碍和忠诚度的策略。在本文中，我们描述了一个家庭搜索和参与模型的改编和实施，该模型称为“为有智力和/或发育障碍的个人寻找家庭”。我们还展示了我们对忠诚度测量、参与者出院叙述、与实施干预的工作人员的访谈以及青少年的其他正式和非正式支持的分析结果。调查结果指出了帮助工人克服系统、组织和个人层面障碍的策略。我们以对研究意义和局限性的讨论来结束本文。