Adults with intellectual disability in long-term respite care: a qualitative study

Although respite care is intended to provide short-term and temporarily rel ief for caregivers, it has unintentionally, become a long-term placement fo r some individuals with developmental disability. In an effort to understan d why some individuals remain in respite care on a long-term basis, we audi ted the files of 10 adults with developmental disability who had been livin g in three respite care units for 12-24 months. Several individual (e.g., c hallenging behaviours, severe disability, lack of communication skills) and family characteristics (e.g., single parent/carer status, poor health, and non-English speaking background) appeared consistent across the sample. Th e results suggest that there may, be benefit in systematic planning for res pite care, especially vith older single-parent families who have adult chil dren with high support needs, challenging behaviour, and severe communicati on impairment.