Objective: The evaluation of individual and organizational quality of life through the Guide to Quality-of-Life Indicators and its promotion in English-speaking areas. This guide was initially designed for people living with Autism Spectrum Disorder in specialist autism centers in Spanish and Italian-speaking areas where its effectiveness has been…

A key challenge in formative evaluation is to gather appropriate evidence to inform the continuous improvement of initiatives. In the absence of outcome data, the programme evaluator often must rely on the perceptions of beneficiaries and staff in generating insight into what is making a difference. The article describes the approach adopted in an…

Program evaluation offers an opportunity for improving the implementation and impact of art therapy. This article describes a process and outcomes evaluation of an art therapy program within the mental health services unit of a community-based organization for people living with HIV/AIDS. The aims were to assess utilization patterns and program…

This paper presents methodology and findings from three product efficacy studies that verify the quality of life benefits resulting from prior research, development, and transfer activities. The paper then discusses key lessons learned with implications for product evaluation practice. The studies assessed the quality of three assistive technology…

Raising a child with disabilities impacts the ability of parents to participate in life situations. This paper describes the development of a new instrument, Life Participation for Parents, to measure outcomes of pediatric therapy on parental participation. Items were reviewed by six occupational therapists with experience in pediatrics and…

This study investigated the stability of the four factors in the Quality of Life Questionnaire, an instrument often used in quality of life research for people with intellectual disabilities. Only three of the four factors were found to be stable, raising potential concern over the use of the measure in assessing service providers' effectiveness.…

An urgent demand from Connecticut parents for behavioral intervention resulted in the development of the River Street Autism Program (RSAP). This research-to-practice program implements intervention service based on empirical research findings conducted with children diagnosed with autism and pervasive developmental disorders. RSAP is provided…

This two-volume set containing guidelines and a handbook is intended for persons monitoring the quality of community residences for retarded individuals. The guidelines document begins with a monitoring review worksheet which elicits information in the following categories: human, civil, and legal rights; environment; use of community resources;…

This report concerns an assessment of the quality of life in Family Housing villages at the University of Florida (UF) which was conducted in April 1986. Section I presents survey particulars such as number of respondents (N=1,551) and rate of survey return (85.7%). Section II contains Hansen's Seven-Step Model for needs assessment which was…

A 1978 preliminary study assessed the attitudes of the residents of Glencoe, Oklahoma, concerning the existing school system and the interest in possible development of a community education program. A door to door and telephone survey was administered to 157 households (a 50% sampling), using a 15-item questionnaire, to determine the attitude…