Initial evaluation of the effects of an environmental‐focused problem‐solving intervention for transition‐age young people with developmental disabilities: Project TEAM

Abstract

Individualized goal-setting, alone or during Project TEAM (Teens making Environment and Activity Modifications) appears to support attainment of participation goals. Project TEAM appears to support young people with developmental disabilities to apply an environmental problem-solving approach to participation barriers. Parents of young people with developmental disabilities report sustained changes in self-determination 6 weeks after Project TEAM.

The Pathways and Resources for Participation and Engagement (PREP): methodological contributions to environment‐focused interventions

“…2,4 Both measures individualize the targeted outcome and the meaning of change for each participant. In this study, the authors used the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) to measure perceived changes in the performance of individually selected community-based activities.…”

“…4 Pediatric hematologists screen for risks of stroke among children with sickle cell anemia (hemoglobin SS and S-beta thalassemia 0 ). Overt stroke is associated with a decline of 10 to 15 points in Full-scale IQ, and silent strokes with a 5-point loss.…”

“…1 The study by Anaby et al contributes to the emerging body of literature documenting that interventions targeting the environment (rather than impairments) facilitate young people's participation in community-based activities. [2][3][4] This study makes several methodological contributions to the study of environment-and participation-focused interventions. First, although randomized controlled trials are typically used to evaluate interventions, this study demonstrates how single-subject designs are well-suited to the complexity of environment-focused interventions.…”

“…The COPM and Goal Attainment Scaling have been sensitive to change in other environment-and participation-focused intervention studies. 2,4 Both measures individualize the targeted outcome and the meaning of change for each participant. Such approaches appear able to capture the meaningful changes that result from interventions such as PREP.…”

“…Overt stroke is associated with a decline of 10 to 15 points in Full-scale IQ, and silent strokes with a 5-point loss. 4 Pediatric hematologists screen for risks of stroke among children with sickle cell anemia (hemoglobin SS and S-beta thalassemia 0 ). The US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) evidence-based guidelines support transcranial Doppler (TCD) screening for an elevated risk of stroke starting at age 2 years for those with higher risk SCD (https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/ evidence-based-management-sickle-cell-disease).…”