Day Services for People With Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities: An Analysis of Thematically Organized Activities

Abstract

One of the recent ideas to emerge in the Netherlands for improving the quality of activities provided for people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities is to organize these activities thematically. Among the expected effects was that more activities with a greater variety would be provided and more attention would be offered to each person. A study of 23 attendees was undertaken in one day center to assess the effect of this new program effort. Data were collected on the number, type, and length of activities offered as well as the duration of individual attention each attendee was given during each activity. Data were collected using diary entries made during 20 morning or afternoon sessions over a period of 4 weeks. The average number of activities was well above the average when compared with regular centers; however, 63% of the activities were care-related activities, activities relating to starting and finishing the day (e.g., entering the center, putting on coats), and time spent on waiting and resting. The type of activities offered exhibited less variety than expected—audiovisual activities, such as watching television, constituted a considerable part of the program, and artistic and creative activities and “microtechnology” were offered less frequently or not at all. Increased personal time by the use of thematic rooms was not supported by the data. Authors note that thought should be given to the way that staff members work, in particular to whether they might be linked to a specific theme room or an individual attendee. The latter might contribute to more intensive relationship building and the acquisition of more specific knowledge about a number of attendees, while the former might contribute to the acquisition of more specific knowledge about a specific theme room's possibilities.