Gaining super control: Psychoeducational group intervention for adolescents with mild intellectual disability and their parents.

Stine Ericson,Kristine Stadskleiv,Marianne Winge Hesla

doi:10.1177/1744629521995373

Stine Ericson, Kristine Stadskleiv + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.1177/1744629521995373

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Abstract

Adolescents with intellectual disability experience psychological and social challenges in their transition to adulthood. Knowledge about the diagnosis and insight into own strengths and difficulties can help them manage the limitations and barriers they face, but suitable interventions with this purpose are scarce. The present paper presents a psychoeducational group intervention, The Super Control Project, for adolescents (15–17 years old) with mild intellectual disability (n = 23) and their parents. In a pre-post design, adolescent outcome data was obtained through teacher and parent questionnaires, and interviews with the adolescents. Parents and adolescents also evaluated the interventions’ usefulness. Results indicated positive impact on participants’ understanding of the diagnosis, managing of everyday challenges, and social networking. The intervention seemed to fit the participants’ needs and abilities. The study encourages further implementation and rigorous evaluation.

Highlights

Adolescence is generally considered to be a time of preparation for adulthood
We found one study which evaluated the effectiveness of a psychoeducational program compared to regular self-help support group for parents of adolescents with intellectual disability (Picard et al, 2014)
The present study describes a structured psychoeducational group intervention for adolescents with mild intellectual disability and their parents and evaluates it’s usefulness

Summary

Introduction

Adolescence is generally considered to be a time of preparation for adulthood. Key issues in the psychosocial development at this stage are identity formation, increasing independence, and Journal of Intellectual Disabilities XX(X)individuation from the family (Erikson, 1994; von Tetzchner, 2018). Adolescence is generally considered to be a time of preparation for adulthood. Key issues in the psychosocial development at this stage are identity formation, increasing independence, and Journal of Intellectual Disabilities XX(X). All adolescents have a challenging time developing adult skills, but adolescents with intellectual disability need closer follow-up, facilitation, and more systematic learning experiences to acquire the skills required for adulthood (Parmenter et al, 2016). For young people with intellectual disability, adolescence is known to represent increased risk for social isolation, mental health problems, and greater reliance on family (Merrells et al, 2019). Most adolescents with disabilities desire to have developmental experiences and social opportunities similar to their typical developing peers (LoConto and Dodder, 1997; Maxey and Beckert, 2017)

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