RESIDENT BEHAVIOR AND STAFF INTERACTION WITH PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUALDISABILITIES AND SERIOUSLY CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR IN RESIDENTIAL SERVICES

The behaviour of 16 residents with severe intellectual disabilities an d severely challenging behaviour and the interactions they received fr om staff were observed. Eight people lived in traditional hospitals an d eight in community settings. The two groups were individually matche d by adaptive ability. Differences in the occurrence of various catego ries of staff/resident interaction and resident activity between the t wo groups were not statistically significant. There was some indicatio n that interaction and engagement in activity were improved in those c ommunity settings which were genuinely small and based on ordinary hou sing. However, a more striking finding for all residents was their lac k of constructive occupation and the low level of assistance given by staff to help individuals participate more. Although generally respons ive to the social overtures of residents, staff were otherwise not fou nd to have an evident focus on encouraging resident engagement in acti vity. Two case studies are presented which, with other recent research , point to the impact which the content and focus of staff attention c an have on resident activity patterns. Comparison to research on peopl e with less severe challenging behaviour supports the contention that individuals with the most severe challenging behaviours tend to lead m ore impoverished lives.