Involving adolescents with intellectual disability in the adaptation of self-reported subjective well-being measures: participatory research and methodological considerations.
J Davison, S Maguire, M McLaughlin and 1 others
PMID 35521793WHAT IT FOUND
Adolescents with intellectual disability did not understand two standard self-report well-being questionnaires as written.
Co-designed versions used shorter present-tense questions, pictures and yes/no or yes/no/sometimes answers.
Key findings
01Two standard self-report well-being measures were not understood by adolescents with ID as originally written.
02Complex wording was replaced with familiar words, and past-week questions were changed to present-day questions.
03Pupils considered yes/no and yes/no/sometimes response options comprehensible and preferred thumbs-up/thumbs-down pictures for them.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study included only two special schools, so the adaptations may not represent all adolescents with intellectual disability. The participatory data were not formally synthesised, and the workshops were not audio recorded for wider team review. The adapted measures were not tested for reliability or validity in this paper. Many participants had severe intellectual disability and additional communication, sensory or motor needs, so some self-report was supported or scribed by staff.
Declared interests
The work was funded by the Baily Thomas Charitable Fund. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the adapted questionnaires as validated tools. The paper describes co-design and a pilot, and it says reliability and validity testing is needed.