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It can be concluded that on the basis of empirical evidence, within the time frame of this literature search, little is known about community participation of people with ID. Many researchers did not clearly define community participation and were concerned with limited areas of community participation; research is seldom based on a theoretical framework. Most studies focus on people with mild ID, and there are few reports of the subjects' sample. However, one conclusion can consistently be drawn from the review: people with ID living in community settings participate more than people living in a segregated setting, but their participation level is still much lower than non-disabled and other disability groups.

In the past decade, new models have emerged with respect to the constructs of (intellectual) disability, quality of life, and supports. These models have implications both for understanding the underlying phenomena as for validating professional practices. The authors describe the context and key components of models of human functioning (American Association on Intellectual and Development Disabilities; International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health), supports, and quality of life, and demonstrate how these are related by synthesizing their similarities and differences. From this they discuss the implications for professional clinical and service good practice. It is argued that these models offer relevant frames of reference for guiding and integrating activities of medical, behavioral, and social disciplines in the field of intellectual disability services. It is also argued that knowledge of these models and their relationships facilitates communication among professionals and between professionals and policy makers.

It can be concluded that little has been published about the impact of environmental factors on community participation. Many studies do not clearly define the concept of community participation. Research on the impact of environmental factors on community participation so far seems not to be based on a theoretical framework. Most studies focused on the impact of services on community participation in general.

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The Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) was developed to provide information on the support needs of persons with intellectual disability. Our aim here was to evaluate the factorial validity of the SIS in a sample of 14,862 persons with intellectual disability. The structure of the instrument as promulgated by the developers was tested and its stability evaluated across gender, age, disability complexity, and disability severity groups. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the originally proposed subscale structure. The six-factor structure yielded strict factorial invariance across gender, age, and disability complexity, whereas invariance of factor configuration was merely established across disability severity groups. Possible explanations and implications of these findings are discussed.