Providing Effective Support to Individuals with Disabilities

Strategies for Understanding and Supporting Individuals with Disabilities

• Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have unique needs, preferences, and abilities that should inform how we provide positive behaviour support.
• Preference assessments help identify an individual's likes and dislikes, enabling us to provide enjoyable activities and identify potential reinforcers for skills teaching.
• Assessment tools like AFLS and EFL help assess an individual's level of independence in essential life skills.
• Identifying an individual's communication style and preferences is critical, and assistive technology and visual supports can be helpful.
• Organizations that support individuals with disabilities should provide comprehensive information to their support workers.
• Medical information, assessment reports, personal profiles, communication strategies, goals and aspirations, cultural background, support plans, and emergency contact information should be provided to support workers.
• Support workers should seek to maintain and improve social connections, self-esteem, and a person's sense of belonging and inclusion in their community.
• The information, assessments, and plans exist to enable person-centred support and help support workers achieve the individual's goals.
• Discrepancies between what is seen or reported and what is in the documents should be resolved with the team.
• The lesson's goal is to provide strategies for assessing the unique needs, preferences, and abilities of the individuals you support and to use this knowledge to provide effective support.
• Conducting preference assessments and using assessment tools can help identify an individual's strengths and areas of difficulty.
• Recognizing communication styles and preferences and adapting communication style accordingly is essential.

Do you want to learn how to provide effective support to individuals with disabilities? This quiz covers strategies for understanding their unique needs, preferences, and abilities. You'll learn about preference assessments, essential life skill assessments, communication styles, and assistive technology. You'll also discover the importance of providing comprehensive information to support workers and maintaining social connections. Take this quiz to learn how to provide person-centered support and help individuals achieve their goals.