Kingsnorth S, King G, McPherson A, Jones-Galley K
Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Child Care Health Dev. 2015 May;41(3):374-83. doi: 10.1111/cch.12196. Epub 2014 Sep 24.
Young people with physical disabilities experience issues regarding employment, schooling, independent living and establishing meaningful personal relationships. A lack of life skills has been recognized as an important factor contributing to this lag. The Independence Program (TIP) is a short-term residential life skills program that aims to equip youth with the foundational life skills required to assume adult roles. This study retrospectively examined the achievements, skills acquired and program attributions of youth and young adults who took part in this three-week immersive teen independence program over a 20-year period.
A total of 162 past graduates were invited to take part, with 78 doing so (a 48% response rate). These past graduates completed an online survey assessing objective outcomes such as employment and independent living; subjective outcomes such as feeling in control and living meaningful lives; and reflections on skills acquired, opportunities experienced and attributions to TIP.
The majority of respondents were female (71%), had a diagnosis of cerebral palsy (55%) and ranged from 20 to 35 years of age (92%). Despite a range of outcomes related to the achievement of adult roles, high levels of life satisfaction and overall quality of life were reported. Nearly every respondent reported using the skills they learned at the program in their lives afterwards and a high percentage attributed the acquisition and consolidation of core life skills to participating in this intensive immersive program.
Although causality cannot be assumed, respondents reflected very positively on the opportunities provided by TIP to develop their independent living and life skills, extend their social networks and understand their strengths and weaknesses. Such findings validate the importance of targeted skill development to assist young people with physical disabilities in attaining their life goals and encourage focused investigations of key features in program design.
身体残疾的年轻人在就业、上学、独立生活以及建立有意义的个人关系方面面临诸多问题。缺乏生活技能被认为是导致这种滞后的一个重要因素。独立计划（TIP）是一个短期的寄宿生活技能项目，旨在使青少年具备承担成人角色所需的基本生活技能。本研究回顾性地考察了在20年期间参加这个为期三周的沉浸式青少年独立项目的青少年和青年的成就、所获得的技能以及项目贡献。
共邀请了162名往届毕业生参与，其中78人参与（回复率为48%）。这些往届毕业生完成了一项在线调查，评估就业和独立生活等客观结果；掌控感和有意义的生活等主观结果；以及对所获得技能、经历的机会和TIP贡献的反思。
大多数受访者为女性（71%），患有脑瘫（55%），年龄在20至35岁之间（92%）。尽管在实现成人角色方面有一系列结果，但报告显示生活满意度和总体生活质量较高。几乎每位受访者都表示在之后的生活中使用了在项目中学到的技能，并且很大一部分人将核心生活技能的获得和巩固归功于参与这个密集的沉浸式项目。
虽然不能假定存在因果关系，但受访者对TIP提供的发展独立生活和生活技能、扩展社交网络以及了解自身优缺点的机会给予了非常积极的反馈。这些发现证实了有针对性的技能发展对于帮助身体残疾的年轻人实现生活目标的重要性，并鼓励对项目设计中的关键特征进行重点研究。
