Date of Conferral

2019

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Benita L. Stiles-Smith

Abstract

Individuals with intellectual disabilities often require additional support in performing daily activities as compared to individuals without intellectual disabilities. New York's Office for Developmental Disabilities developed the eight hallmarks of person centered planning to help individuals with intellectual disabilities understand the options available to them regarding care and support and to advocate for themselves and their rights. Researchers have yet to articulate how guardians and professional care providers of individuals with intellectual disabilities experience person centered planning in day habilitation. Thus, using a qualitative phenomenological approach, 5 direct care staff and 5 guardians of individuals with intellectual disabilities were interviewed to understand their perspectives on the 8 hallmarks of person centered planning. The conceptual framework of this study was Piaget's theory of constructivism and Bandura's theory of social learning. I used the Colaizzi method for phenomenological analysis. Following that I used the NVivo 11 qualitative data analysis software package for finding common themes. The results of this study showed that guardians and professional care providers desired more communication and training about the 8 hallmarks of person centered planning to provide the greatest benefit to individuals with intellectual disabilities. Implications for further training of staff and families, and tracking the outcomes of the eight hallmarks of person centered planning for quality of life in clients could result in policy changes for the frame of care offered to people with intellectual disability.

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