Protect Yourself! Abuse Prevention for People with Intellectual Disabilities

PROJECT SUMMARYIndividuals with intellectual disabilitiesIDare at higher risk for abuse than the general populationIncreasing numbers of people with ID are living independently in the community with both its benefits and its risksMany individuals with ID are subjected to physicalsexualand verbal abuseSome of the characteristics found in people with IDshort attention spandifficulties with abstract conceptsoverly compliant personalitieslearning and memory deficitsincrease the likelihood of abuse and its negative consequencesGiven the unique learning needs of individuals with IDthere is a pressing need for abuse prevention programs specifically tailored for both men and women with IDThe goal of this project is to develop a comprehensive prevention programProtect Yourself! Abuse Prevention for People with Intellectual Disabilitiesthat will be designed specifically for this population and address their unique learning needsIn Phase I a prototype program was developed that covered the first two units of the shared curriculum and the first unit of the Learning Partner trainingIn Phase II the complete interactivemultimedia online program will be developed for use by people with ID and their learning partnerLPThe final comprehensive abuse prevention program will consist of nine modules based on research based prevention approaches for this population The final product will be commercially packaged and include both video material and an accompanying workbookThe completed program will be highly interactive and utilize concrete materialsuse video models of appropriate and inappropriate behaviorsprovide opportunities for role playing of the materialsfrequently repeat key conceptsand provide visual rather than text based cuesA unique feature of the program will be the use of a learning partnere gdirect support staffparentadvocateto help the person with ID learn and practice the information provided in the program PROJECT NARRATIVE Research on abuse prevention is highly relevant to public health given the negative consequences of abuseIndividuals with ID are a population at risk for abuse due to many factors including their loneliness and need for social acceptanceThere is a pressing need to develop abuse prevention materials for this groupBy focusing on these individuals with IDthis program brings needed intervention tools for an underserved population