Coyle and Pinkerton identify gaps in the care leaving system in Northern Ireland regarding social work training and meeting the challenges of transitioning from care. The primary focus of this article is to provide a perspective of care and leaving care which could contribute to social work education and practice in these areas. Framed within a…

During the past 30 years many pediatric assessment and outcome measures have been developed. Based on Rasch analysis, the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) was designed to measure functional status by asking parents about both the skills of their children and the performance of daily tasks in three functionally important domains…

Numerous studies show that employment, community participation, and postsecondary training rates of students with severe disabilities after leaving high school are the lowest of all disability categories and compare unfavorably to those of their peers without disabilities. In addition, outcomes generally do not improve as these students age. Certo…

Discusses author's experiences as a blind person and the impacts of his disease, retinitis pigmentosa. Discusses tension between desired independence and necessary dependence. (ABL)

Discusses issues of concern for severely mentally ill people (homelessness, family burden, quality of life, deinstitutionalization, community-based services). Considers how response to severe mental illness has overrelied on pathology-based models of helping. Offers strengths perspective as alternative that sees mentally challenged individuals…

Examines orientation toward social work practice that places consumers at center of decision making/control. Examines trends in consumer movement, including advances among aging, disabled, and mental health client populations. Compares medical-rehabilitation and independent living models to demonstrate fundamental philosophical differences.…

An individual with a disability complains that under the blanket term "disabled" individual needs and rights are not respected, privacy is invaded, people are always being evaluated but never asked to evaluate services they receive, and everything must be part of a "program" rather than just part of daily life. (JDD)

Students with disabilities need self-determination skills to achieve desired in-school and post-school outcomes. Many of these students need direct and explicit instruction to develop these skills. To provide this instruction, schools can infuse self-determination skills into content instruction or adopt a stand-alone self-determination…

This article explores the meaning of efficiency and equity in the context of independent living programs for people with disabilities. Conflicts in costs and trade-offs in various scenarios of the efficiency/equity equation are examined in terms of theories of utilitarianism, contractarianism, justice and mutual advantage, and justice as…

The author of a study which followed up the 1979 deinstitutionalization of 10 adults with mental retardation reflects on his own professional career, his specialization in researching the cost-effectiveness of residential alternatives, and his surprise at the positive adjustment of these individuals to living independently in their own apartments.…

Technological products and services can increase independent living by the elderly, improve their quality of life, and reduce care costs. (Author)

Introduces special journal issue devoted to social and cultural diversity among adults aged 85 years old and older. Notes that four articles come from San Francisco 85+ Study and briefly describes the study itself as longitudinal study of community-dwelling older adults. Discusses revisions in four assumptions in the study of the oldest-old.…

This paper comments on three preceding papers in the same publication on the general topic of self-determination for adults with severe disabilities. The difficulties of defining self-determination are addressed through pragmatism, and the challenges of interpreting self-determination are illustrated through the author's experiences building…

This paper describes the Disability Rights and Independent Living movements, and advocates for increased awareness and leadership. The Independent Living Movement started at the University of California in the 1960s when a group of severely disabled students organized a place where they could live independently. Despite their education and…

Meeting the challenge of providing supported living for people with developmental disabilities calls for new relationships among people receiving support, those providing support, and families. The focus should be on assisting people with developmental disabilities to establish a sense of place, security of place, and effective personalized…