Background
A digital lag has been reported on access to the internet and performing internet activities for young people with learning disabilities in everyday life.
Aim
The aim of this study is to ...explore environmental opportunities and challenges when performing internet activities and how internet use influences social and community participation for young people with learning disabilities from the perspectives of the target group.
Methods
An inductive design was applied, with focused observations and follow‐up interviews of 15 internet‐using young persons with learning disabilities in their everyday settings. The data was analysed interpretatively using open coding.
Findings
The environment offered both opportunities and challenges in terms of the design of digital devices and digital support. Support from peers was often preferred. All participants performed internet activities related to social participation although not all used social media. Searching for information was performed, however, finding the information or understanding it was challenging and led to restricted participation in the community.
Conclusion
More examples of internet use positively influencing social participation were found, contrary to community participation. It is indicated that concrete learning situations when using the internet for social participation were more adapted to the participants and promoted this type of participation, contrary to situations of internet use influencing community participation.
Accessible summary
Doing activities online is part of everyday life.
We explored opportunities and challenges in the environment when performing internet activities and how internet use influence participation for young people with learning disabilities.
We observed and interviewed people in their everyday settings of school or activity service and home about their internet use.
Young people prefer digital support from peers rather than staff when using the internet.
People do internet activities to have contact with others, but it was a challenge to find and understand information online and to take part in activities in the community.
The COVID‐19 pandemic has meant a rapid transfer of everyday activities to the online world. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have become more embedded than ever in people's lives. ...This investigation addresses how this change has affected the lives of people with intellectual disabilities (ID). A two‐step design was used. A rapid review was conducted on empirical studies published between January 2019 and June 2021. Search terms related to ID, ICT use and COVID‐19. A qualitative international bricolage was also conducted corresponding to author nationalities. Data gathered from the review and bricolage were analysed separately using thematic analysis and relationally synthesised. Digital solutions to provide access to COVID‐19 information and guidance seemed inadequate but were seldom empirically studied. Digital poverty, literacy and exclusion remain significant issues for people with ID internationally. People and their carers experienced reduced and removed service provision, loneliness and impoverished daily lives during the pandemic; amelioration of which was facilitated by digital solutions. One solution often used was videoconferencing. Prior experience of digital participation, adequate finances, connection, support and digital literacy mentoring for both people with ID and those providing services and support facilitated digital inclusion. Digital exclusion during COVID‐19 was exacerbated by sociopolitical, structural, individual and support‐related barriers. Although awareness of digital exclusion appears to have been raised, the extent to which this has led to action and change remains unclear. Despite digital exclusion and digital participation benefitting continuation of life, social and emotional well‐being and autonomy, COVID‐19 has not provided the impetus to eradicate digital poverty for people with ID. Governmental support, digital education, creativity and problem solving are required to enable people with ID the human right to be included in the digital world at this essential time and into the future.
Internet use is an integrated part of everyday life, especially among young people. However, knowledge of this for young people with disabilities is scarce. This study investigates digital ...participation of adolescents with intellectual disabilities by comparing aspects of Internet use among adolescents with and without intellectual disabilities. Cross-sectional comparative design was used and a national survey from the Swedish Media Council was cognitively adapted for adolescents with intellectual disabilities aged 13–20 years. The results reveal that a significantly lower proportion of the 114 participating adolescents with intellectual disabilities had access to Internet-enabled devices and performed Internet activities, except for playing games, than the reference group (n = 1161). The greatest difference was found in searching for information. Analyses indicate that adolescents with intellectual disabilities are following a similar pattern of Internet use as the reference group, but a digital lag is prevalent, and a more cognitively accessible web could be beneficial.
Background: The aim of this study was to explore and describe access to the Internet and how it is used among adolescents and young adults with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities in their ...everyday settings.
Method: Data were collected through observations of and interviews with 15 participants with intellectual disabilities, aged 13-25 years, on access and use of the Internet in school or work and at home or in their free time. A qualitative content analysis was used.
Results: Main findings were categorised into: access to the Internet in different settings, challenges when using the Internet and strategies to handle the digital environment and take part in Internet activities.
Conclusions: This study revealed that participants had access to Internet connections and to a high number of Internet-enabled devices. Participants used the Internet through strategies when doing Internet activities, for example using pictures and reducing the number of Internet-enabled devices used in their everyday settings.
Intellectual disability (ID) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with a poorer health profile and higher mortality. Young people with ID have more sedentary lifestyles than their typically ...developing peers. Consequently, this group is at significant risk of developing lifestyle diseases (ie, noncommunicable diseases) later in life. Increasing physical activity and eating a healthier diet have been argued to be effective ways to improve the health of adolescents and young adults with ID. Digital interventions are a viable option for improving health behaviors.
This research protocol describes a co-design approach using workshops to develop a digital intervention that promotes healthy behaviors, including increasing physical activity and eating a healthier diet, among adolescents and young adults with ID.
A participatory design using a co-design approach will be applied as a strategy to include potential users of the digital intervention and other stakeholders in the research process, comprising research design, data collection, and data analysis. A total of 7 to 10 workshops will be conducted aimed at developing a digital intervention and will include procedures for assessing needs; facilitators and barriers to health promotion; physical, mental, and social well-being; participation; and relationships. The workshops will include 12 to 18 stakeholders with experience of clinical practice and research related to young people with ID, including relatives, as well as adolescents and young adults (aged 16-25 years) with mild to moderate ID. Participants will perform a mixture of individual and group work using whiteboards, sticky notes, felt-tip pens, cards, balls, stickers, and wireframe templates. Data analysis will take place concurrently with data collection as an iterative process. Transcribed data from the audio and video recordings of the groups' discussions will be analyzed following a qualitative methodological procedure.
This study protocol provides a systematic record of the scientific methodologies used when developing the digital intervention and provides insights into the potential practical solutions and challenges when following a co-design approach in which relatives and professionals, as well as adolescents and young adults with ID, are included as research partners. Recruitment of participants started in April 2023. Data collection, analysis, and reporting will be completed in December 2023.
This study will explore the effectiveness of workshops at gathering rich, reliable, and valid data in a co-design approach with participants. The results will provide increased knowledge in how to use technology to develop novel, evidence-based, and scalable interventions that adolescents and young adults with ID can and want to use to motivate physical activity and a healthier diet. The project will provide a simple and cognitively accessible digital solution for promoting lifestyle behaviors tailored to the needs of adolescents and young adults with ID.
PRR1-10.2196/47877.
Background: In contemporary society internet and digital competencies are used to perform activities.
Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate opportunities and risks of internet use as perceived ...by the parents of adolescents with intellectual disabilities (ID) in comparison with a national reference group of parents of adolescents.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with group comparisons using a national survey. Analyses were carried out using Fisher's exact test and logistic regression to control for confounding factors.
Results: A significantly higher proportion of parents of adolescents with ID perceive opportunities associated with internet use and playing games, and a lower proportion perceive risks with negative consequences, compared with the reference group. Significantly more parents of adolescents with ID perceive their adolescent never use smartphones and social media compared with the reference group. Fewer parents of adolescents with ID have concerns about online risks for their adolescents compared with the reference group.
Conclusion and Significance: The results provide new knowledge for occupational therapists to support positive risk-taking in internet-use for adolescents with ID, in collaboration with their parents, to enable the development of digital competencies and digital participation in everyday life in a digitalised society.
Background: The aim is to explore and describe access to the internet and how it is used among adolescents and young adults with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities in their everyday ...settings. Method: Data were collected through observations of and interviews with 15 participants with intellectual disabilities, aged 13-25, on access and use of the internet in school or work and at home or in their free time. A qualitative content analysis was used. Results: Main findings were categorised into: Access to the internet in different settings, Challenges when using the internet and Strategies to handle the digital environment and take part in internet activities. Conclusions: This study revealed that participants had access to internet connections and to a high number of internet-enabled devices. Participants use the internet through strategies when doing internet activities, for example using pictures and reducing the number of internet-enabled devices used in their everyday settings.
The aim of this study was to examine the utility and content validity of the Swedish version of the Volitional Questionnaire (VQ-S). The participants in this study were thirteen occupational ...therapists selected because they worked with clients for whom the VQ-S is appropriate (in this case, adults with intellectual impairments) and because they had knowledge of the Model of Human Occupation. These participants completed a demographic questionnaire at the beginning of the study. Each therapist then used the VQ-S a total of six times and after each time they completed a questionnaire concerning the utility and content validity of the instrument. After having administered the instrument six times they completed a third questionnaire that assessed their perceptions of the VQ-S based on their total experience. Data from these questionnaires and the six assessment forms with the actual client ratings were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative procedures. The findings indicate that the VQ-S has clinical relevance and potential for implementation with adults with intellectual impairments. They also support the content validity of the VQ-S.
Background: Internet use is an integral part of everyday life in contemporary society, especially among young people. It is used to perform activities in everyday life by an increasing proportion of ...the population. However, knowledge about access to and use of the internet by adolescents and young adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) is scarce. More knowledge is needed about digital competencies and digital participation in their everyday lives.Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to explore and describe internet access and use, and digital participation in everyday life among adolescents and young adults with intellectual disabilities.Designs and Methods: The thesis is based on results from three studies. In study I, the focus was on access to and use of the internet in the everyday settings of school/work, at home or during free time. Data was collected through observations, conversations, and follow-up interviews with 15 participants with ID, aged 13–24 years. The data was analysed using qualitative content analysis. In studies II and III, the design was cross-sectional and comparative, using national surveys on media and internet use from the Swedish Media Council, from which comparative data from reference groups could be gained. In study II, the national survey of adolescents on internet access and use was cognitively adapted for adolescents with intellectual disabilities, aged 13–20 years, in several steps. This made it accessible to a total selection of pupils from all the special schools in four diverse municipalities in two different regions of Sweden. In study III, the national survey of parents about opportunities and risks of internet use by their adolescents was used. The surveys were sent to a sample of n=318 adolescents with ID and their caregivers/parents. The responses were higher for the adolescents (n=114) than for the parents (n=99), and the response rate of the adolescents with ID was equivalent as that of the reference group, at 36% and 38% respectively. In study II, chi-square tests were used and, when necessary, Fisher’s exact test to analyse the data. In study III, analyses were carried out using Fisher’s exact test and logistic regression to control for confounding factors.Results: This thesis show that access to internet-enabled devices is lower for adolescents with ID than for the general population, except for tablets (study II). All internet activities, except playing games, are performed by fewer adolescents with ID compared to the reference group (study II) and the time spent on the internet activities is less (study III). Both environmental challenges and personal abilities present difficulties in internet access and use (study I) and affect digital participation for adolescents and young adults with ID. Furthermore, a significantly higher proportion of parents of adolescents with ID perceive opportunities associated with internet use and playing games, and a lower proportion perceive risks with negative consequences, or have concerns about online risks, compared with the reference group (study III). Significantly more parents of adolescents with ID state that their adolescent never uses smartphones or social media compared with the reference group. Strategies used to handle the digital environment and take part in internet activities were found and described, such as getting support from others, reducing the number of internet-enabled devices used and personalising them. Gaining access to internet content and performing internet activities was facilitated by picture-, word- and voice-based strategies, which were used by adolescents and young adults with both mild and moderate ID (study I).Conclusions: The conclusions are that the results show a lag in internet access and use and in digital participation by adolescents and young adults with ID. Adolescents and young adults with ID were accessing and using the internet in similar ways to the reference group, but to a lesser extent. The impact of the participants’ environment, together with their lack of certain abilities, make the development of digital competencies difficult for them. The result that parents of adolescents with ID perceive more opportunities and fewer risks associated with the internet provides new knowledge to support positive risk-taking in internet use and enable digital participation by adolescents and young adults with ID. Support can be developed in collaboration between the adolescent/young adult, their parents and teachers, and staff in community-based services and should involve physical, social and digital environmental adaptations. These can enable the development of digital competencies and minimise the lag in digital participation in everyday life, which is needed for participation in today’s digitalised society.
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