Service organizations for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) increasingly use telecare applications to improve their services. This study explored the usefulness of offering the 24/7 online support service DigiContact within a broader mix of professional services for people with IDD living independently. We employed a qualitative multiple case study, in which the cases of nine online support users were reconstructed through semistructured interviews with both support users and their case workers. Thematic analysis showed that online support was used as an addition to regular onsite support to enable a more tailor-made delivery of professional supports. Online support can be valuable for its users by increasing the accessibility of professional support and creating opportunities for more self-direction in support.
View related articles View Crossmark dataDisability & society 'When I need them, I call them and they will be there for me' . Experiences of independently living people with intellectual disabilities with 24/7 available online support
The original adage of the movement of people with disabilities ‘Nothing about us without us’ is fortunately more and more adopted in the research world. There is, for example, increasing recognition of the importance and value of actively involving people with intellectual disabilities in research projects on topics that are relevant to them. In a current doctoral research project, a co-researcher with an intellectual disability was recruited to work together with the doctoral researcher. Now that this project is nearing completion, it is time to look at some aspects of their collaboration and see what we can learn from this process. In several (joint) meetings, the researchers reflected on their personal experiences with working and researching together. Our reflections are presented using three overarching themes: preparations for the collaboration, collaborating as a complex process, and conducting research together. The discussion focuses on what can be inferred from these personal experiences with regard to the following three topics: how inclusive research can be organised best, the possible benefits of the collaboration for the researchers involved, and the possible impact of the collaboration on the quality of the research.
Background
Professional support for people with intellectual disabilities is increasingly provided remotely. This study explores what support staff of the Dutch remote support service DigiContact experience as distinctive aspects of their job as a remote support professional.
Method
Semi‐structured interviews were held with 10 DigiContact support workers. The transcripts were analysed through a qualitative content analysis process.
Results
Six themes were identified that reflect distinct aspects of the participants' work within the DigiContact remote support context: being encouraged to adopt a solution‐oriented coaching support style; being limited in one's support options; facing considerable diversity; providing support as one team; dealing with unpredictability; and navigating the dynamic within work shifts.
Conclusions
The way support is organised and delivered can have substantial implications for support professionals. Working at a service like DigiContact seems to call for specific skills, knowledge, affinities and experience, and for appropriate support and facilitation from organisations.
Background: Professional support for people with intellectual disabilities is increasingly delivered remotely. Understanding what support workers do to support people with intellectual disabilities remotely, and how they do this, is therefore important. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the remote support practice of the support staff of the Dutch service DigiContact.Methods: A qualitative study was performed in which we followed an inductiveiterative process and used different sources of information: documents, interviews with people who are supported by DigiContact and their caseworkers, and interviews with DigiContact support workers.Findings: Seven themes were constructed and described. Four themes reflected the support activities of DigiContact support workers, and three themes reflected qualities that guide how the support is provided.Conclusions: A remote support context can bring both challenges and opportunities to the practice of supporting people with intellectual disabilities. The findings can be useful for service organisations who are contemplating the adoption of remote support initiatives for people with intellectual disabilities.
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