The Relationship Between Type of Residence and Community Engagement and Friendship for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in the State of Ohio
This study reviews the current state of deinstitutionalization for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) in Ohio. Current policy within the state of Ohio encourages greater levels of deinstitutionalization for individuals with I/DD. The purpose of this exploratory quantitative study was to identify difference in community engagement and friendship for individuals with I/DD based on residence. I analyzed data from the National Core Indicators Study completed in Ohio to identify differences in community engagement and friendship for individuals residing in institutional versus community homes as well as those residing in family versus group homes. No significant differences were identified based on residence. However, although not significant, differences were identified regarding seeing one’s friends as well as community engagement, both based on residence. Therefore, I propose a three-tiered solution. First, I recommend additional research regarding community engagement and friendship, including gathering residents’ feelings of satisfaction, based on residence. Second, I propose gathering additional information from individuals residing with families as well as those family members related to seeing one’s friends. Finally, I detail an action research community engagement pilot project to gather additional information to best inform future work in this area. Keywords: individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), deinstitutionalization, community inclusion, community engagement, friendship
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