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This study analyses the contribution of holiday trips to the levels of life satisfaction reported by individuals with and without disability by using an approach in which life satisfaction is seen as a combination of various life satisfaction domains (health, job, housework, household income, dwelling, and leisure). Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we estimate a two-layer model which proposes that satisfaction with different domains of life are interrelated and wherein life satisfaction depends on the weight that the individual allocates to each of these domains. The results show that disabled people who participate in holiday trips obtain higher levels of satisfaction with health, job, and housework than do nondisabled ones, especially when this participation is more intense. In addition, satisfaction with health and household income has a significant effect on the overall life satisfaction reported by disabled individuals. Public policy recommendations are given. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Findings from a meta-analysis of 26 studies investigating the effects of either the Kids on the Block or Count Me In puppet shows on changes in elementary students' attitudes toward and knowledge of individuals with disabilities are reported. The studies included 5,302 intervention group participants and 2,642 comparison group participants. Results indicated that the puppet shows had small to medium effects on changes in the participants' attitudes and knowledge, and that the sizes of effect were moderated by a number of intervention- and nonintervention-related variables. Both the strengths and limitations of the meta-analysis are described as well as are the implications for practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article documents the process of attempting to challenge barriers that prevent disabled people with high levels of institutional intervention from taking part in research dissemination and its more elevated spaces of presentation, debate, and influence. We have sought to keep the disabled researchers on our team in the conversation throughout article production. Thus, the article is a series of dialogues conducted across the production process. These dialogues explore the embodied methodologies that made risk management policy more accessible to those whose views about it we wanted to hear. We also explore the spatial metaphors that arose as we reflected on research. This involves an engagement with Deleuze and Guattari’s metaphor of plateau and an understanding of our work as a series of assemblages that are configured and reconfigured to adapt to changing opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study assessed whether persons with spinal cord injuries who had been successfully rehabilitated into employment following receipt of rehabilitation services had better quality of life and subjective well-being than the unsuccessfully rehabilitated who did not obtain employment following receipt of rehabilitation services. Persons who were successfully rehabilitated had a significantly higher overall quality of life and health and higher quality of life in their physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environmental domains than the unsuccessfully rehabilitated. The successfully rehabilitated also had higher psychological, financial, and physical well-being than the unsuccessfully rehabilitated. Rehabilitation counselors can use quality of life and subjective well-being measures to provide more focused interventions during rehabilitation and as an outcome measure in addition to employment upon completion of rehabilitation services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construct of work personality has been linked to the development of effective work behaviors and overall vocational adjustment for individuals with disabilities. One conceptualization of work personality that has received consideration in the rehabilitation research literature is the construct of developmental work personality (DWP). The primary strengths of the DWP model are that it is grounded in developmental, learning, and work theories that have been widely validated with multiple populations in a variety of contexts and that the model is designed to explain components of the work personality, described by Neff as being "semi-autonomous." The purpose of this study is to provide evidence of the psychometric properties of the DWP scale in samples of persons eligible to receive vocational rehabilitation services. The results of this three-phase study reveal empirically defined factors of the scale that correspond to the DWP model, adequate convergent validity measures, and adequate to good internal and temporal reliability coefficients in a sample of students. Recommendations for best use of the model and scale are included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although low levels of employment among transition-age youth with visual impairments (VI) have long been a concern, empirical research in this area is very limited. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that predict future employment for this population and to compare these factors to the factors that predict employment for the general population. Participants in the study were young adults between the ages of 18 and 23 in 2002 whose data were obtained from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997. Multilevel modeling for longitudinal data was the technique used to analyze 5 years of employment data for the participants. Two models were developed and tested: one for persons with VI and one for the general population. Independent variables found to significantly predict employment for young adults with VI were number of jobs held as a teenager, math and verbal aptitude, parental support, and self-reported health. Participation in school-to-work programs and educational level did not significantly predict employment for this population. Results are compared and contrasted with results for the general population. The importance of having a number of early work experiences while also focusing on academic skills for youth with VI is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated certified rehabilitation counselors' (CRCs) attitudes, knowledge, and comfort in addressing disability and sexuality issues. One hundred ninety-nine CRCs completed a modified version of the Knowledge, Comfort, Approach and Attitudes toward Sexuality Scale to determine the effect of knowledge and attitudes on level of comfort in addressing sexuality issues with consumers. Counseling and education-type comfort and comfort with sexual solicitations or discovering consumers in sexual situations (approach) were assessed separately. Participants demonstrated low discomfort on the education and counseling-related comfort scale (M = 1.84, SD = .82) and medium discomfort on the approach-related comfort scale (M = 2.78, SD = .96), positive attitudes (M = 1.53, SD = .74), and average knowledge (M = 2.40, SD = .842). Results of regression analyses indicated that 17% (R2 = .172) of the variance on comfort and 19% (R2 = .189) of the variance on approach could be accounted for by CRCs' knowledge and attitude, indicating that these were contributing to CRC comfort levels in addressing sexuality with consumers. Implications include the need for continued research concerning factors affecting CRC comfort in addressing sexuality-related issues with consumers, and the need for increased CRC education and training in sexuality and disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have indicated racial and ethnic disparities in the vocational rehabilitation (VR) system, including differences in acceptance, services provided, closure types, and employment outcomes. Few of these studies, however, have used advanced multivariate techniques or latent constructs to measure quality of employment outcomes (QEO) or tested hypothesized models for the relationship between race, personal history characteristics, and VR employment outcomes. This study tested an implied conceptual model for the relationship between race, personal history characteristics, and QEO for White, Black, and Hispanic participants in the VR system. The study used structural equation modeling (SEM) and 2006 RSA 911 data. The implied conceptual model was tested for goodness of fit and multiple-group invariance. The final structural model indicated moderate model fit. It also indicated interaction effects for race by gender and for race by public support. Study limitations and suggestions for further research are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed whether persons with spinal cord injuries who were successfully rehabilitated differed from those who were not with regard to positive and negative affect, life satisfaction, and depression. An ex post facto research design compared persons with spinal cord injuries who were previously employed with persons with spinal cord injuries who were not employed after receiving services from a southeastern state Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services program. There were no significant differences between the two groups based on age, gender, race, current level of education, and time employed prior to their injury. The unsuccessfully rehabilitated had lower positive affect and higher negative affect, were less satisfied with life and more depressed, and had a higher percentage of cervical and lumbar injuries than the successfully rehabilitated. Positive psychotherapy techniques are recommended to see if they can decrease depression and improve satisfaction with life and positive affect, while decreasing negative affect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The degree of acceptance of dog guides at public facilities, which is required by law in Japan, was investigated, and evidence of rejection was found. Japanese people with visual impairments who used dog guides reported higher daily stress levels than did those who did not use dog guides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was planned to investigate the effect of a sensory integration therapy program on sensory problems of children with autism. This study was conducted at the Trakya University Training and Research Center for Mentally and Physically Handicapped Children in Turkey. The children were separated into two groups, each comprising 15 children between 7 and 11 years of age with autism, according to DSM-IV criteria. The children in each group were assessed initially on a checklist, Sensory Evaluation Form for Children with Autism, developed to evaluate sensory characteristics of children with autism, and at the end of the study, participants were assessed again on the checklist. Statistically significant differences between groups indicated that the sensory integration therapy program positively affected treated children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To characterize physical activity levels of adults with mental retardation and identify limitations in published research. Data Sources. Key word searches for “mental retardation,” “intellectual disability,” “learning disability,” or “developmental disability” combined with “physical activity” or “habitual exercise” identified articles from MEDLINE, Academic Search Elite, Psych Articles, Health Source, and SPORT Discus. This produced a total of 801 citations. Study Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria. Published English-language literature that quantitatively measured physical activity levels of adults with mental retardation was included in this review. Fourteen articles met this criterion. Data Extraction. Characteristics of participants, study design, outcome measures, methods of analyses, and findings in terms of percentages, step counts, and accelerometer output were extracted. Data Synthesis. Data were synthesized to identify the percentage of adults with mental retardation who met published health-related physical activity criteria and compare them with adults without mental retardation and to examine study limitations. Results. The studies with the greatest rigor indicate that one-third of adults or fewer with mental retardation were sufficiently active to achieve health benefits. However, data are insufficient to determine whether adults with mental retardation are less active than the general community. Conclusions. Future research would be enhanced by including appropriately powered representative samples, by including comparison groups, by validating physical activity questionnaires, and by determining the accuracy of proxy respondents. (Am J Health Promot 2006;21[1]:2–12.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"What makes your life meaningful?" is a question previous research- ers explored with people of various ages, but not of individuals who have significant physical impairments. In this study, 26 individuals with physical disabilities were asked to describe what makes their lives meaningful. Analysis showed human relationships were the most frequently reported source of meaning in life, the sources being family members, friends, and people in the community. The second most frequently cited meaning was service, specifically, helping and educating others, such as other people with physical disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the association between selected childhood adverse experiences and disability due to mental health problems in a community sample of women. Variables of interest included childhood physical and sexual abuse, parental psychiatric and substance abuse history, and sociodemographic factors. Method: Girls and women (aged 15 to 64 years) from a province-wide community sample (n = 4239) were asked about disability and most childhood adverse experiences through interview; a self-administered questionnaire inquired about child abuse. Logistic regression (crude and adjusted odds ratios) was used to test the associations between childhood adversity and disability due to mental health problems. Results: Approximately 3% of the women had a disability due to mental health problems. Among women with a disability, about 50% had been abused while growing up. After controlling for income and age, we found that disability showed the strongest association with childhood sexual abuse, physical abuse, and parental psychiatric disorder. Conclusion: Disability due to mental health problems was experienced by women with and without exposure to abuse in childhood. However, childhood sexual abuse and physical abuse were important correlates of disability. Disability creates suffering and loss for the individual and society; this issue merits more research in relation to child abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the nature of kindergarten children's understanding about and attitudes toward disabilities. Interviews with 77 Canadian children enrolled in inclusive classrooms showed that kindergarten children (a) conceptualize disabilities chiefly according to physical appearances and (b) possess a fairly accurate understanding of some aspects of disabilities. Kindergarten children also hold generally positive attitudes toward persons with disabilities. These attitudes, however, do not reflect their reported friendships with persons with disabilities. Only half of the nondisabled children reported having friends who have disabilities. Possibilities for future research and the need to further enhance the social inclusion of children with disabilities are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals with developmental disabilities are at high risk for developing mental health problems. The prevalence of psychopathology is approximately 4 times higher than that found in the general population. Yet there is a tendency to underdiagnose psychiatric disorders in the developmentally delayed population because of diagnostic overshadowing, the lack of appropriate diagnostic criteria, and the paucity of appropriate assessment measures. Over the past decade, there has been an emergence of scales developed specifically to screen for psychopathology in individuals with developmental disabilities. In addition, advancements have been made in observation techniques, thus facilitating the ability to objectively observe behaviors often described as internal events. A description of a multimethod approach to assessing psychopathology in individuals with developmental disabilities is provided incorporating the recent advancements in the field, as well as suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online interviews are deemed an effective and appropriate approach for accessing discourse about the online experiences of people with disabilities. Some of the central arguments in support of conducting discursive research online, a type of qualitative approach, are delineated. Various practical benefits are considered for researchers, as well as participants--especially those with disabilities. Ethical issues surrounding access to, and the analysis of, readily available data in online communities are brought to the fore. In light of ethical dilemmas surrounding naturalistic data collection online, an alternative approach is offered, which utilizes online interviews with people with disabilities about their online experiences. A description of the data-collection process is given, including participants and recruitment, materials and procedures, rapport building, and security and ethics. Reflections on the process highlight how methodological pitfalls were managed and, in some cases, resolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines rationales for permitting proxies to enroll decisionally impaired individuals in nonbeneficial experiments. Conflict between bioethics professor Stephen Post's common good rationale and the right to bodily integrity; Description of the practice of proxy consent in the medical treatment setting; Recommendations.

Presents information on a study which improved the understanding of gender differences in the process of becoming disabled among older adults with arthritis. Background on the study; Data and method; Research findings; Discussion.

Presents a review of social validation research involving persons with handicaps. Function of social validation; Social importance of the effects and goals; Social appropriateness of procedures; Determining optimal levels of performance.

A survey designed to measure attitudes toward handicapped persons was administered to 92 young, nonhandicapped children. Nine of the subjects, who had previously reported more favorable attitudes as a result of participation in a structured integration program, continued to demonstrate these gains 2 years later. The remaining 83 subjects had never participated in a structured integration program. Analysis of the responses of the 92 children according to type of contact and the time at which contact occurred suggested that contact per se, regardless of type or timing, can produce more favorable attitudes among young children than an absence of contact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion on the education of handicapped children and the research conducted in support of the program. It also discusses the special legislation that supports the education of handicapped children such as the Research and Demonstration in the Education of the Handicapped which resulted in a systematic federal attention in support of the potential of research and related activities in meeting the educational needs of handicapped children. The specific issues to be taken into consideration in the future regarding these educational needs are also presented.

Introduces a series of articles which deal with research and practice for persons with severe disabilities.

Praises an article on bodily integrity as a morally limiting factor in research on persons who are incapacitated with regard to decision making in the context of human-participants research. Role of family members in the provision of consent to nontherapeutic research; Recommendations.

Announces the 1996-1997 Ed Roberts Fellowship for postdoctoral and doctoral disability research at the University of California in Berkeley. Contact information.

The article presents a handicapped funding directory for ERIC. Research Grant Guides announced the publication of the revised and updated edition of the "Handicapped Funding Directory." This 1982-83 third edition directory is a resource of information for planners and fund seekers for the handicapped. It contains a list of more than 500 foundations, corporations, associations, and government agencies for handicapped programs and services. Also featured in this directory are articles on how to obtain grants, names and addresses of State Agency Directors, and a bibliography of grant funding publications.