Stress, Mindfulness, and People with Intellectual Disabilities

Project Summary Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) commonly experience high levels of stress due to factors like social exclusion, bullying, limited support networks, and discrimination. Because of this they are at risk for mental health difficulties like depression, anxiety, and severe behavior problems. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is increasingly being used for stress management for the general public and has been successfully adapted to meet the unique learning needs of individuals with I.D. However, there is a definite lack of home-based online mindfulness interventions tailored to the unique learning needs of this population. The central goal of this project is to create an online, interactive mindfulness- based stress reduction program: Stress, Mindfulness, and People with Intellectual Disabilities (SM-ID). We propose three Specific Aims with the primary aim of evaluating the feasibility of the program by examining 30 used dyads (person with ID and a support person) with an emphasis on program satisfaction and acceptability. One secondary aim is to conduct formative research with key stakeholders (two focus groups) to aid in identifying appropriate content and barriers to implementation. The other secondary aim is to assess usability of the online program with 5 dyads. This work is significant because it will provide resources for an underserved population – individuals with ID -- who experience frequent stress with the challenges of community living and who may lack healthy coping capacities. Moreover, the proposed program has the potential to broadly impact the way supports are delivered to individuals with ID by adding an integrated, efficacious intervention that overcomes common barriers to individuals with ID’s participation (time, finances, and availability). From a public health perspective, this approach is ideally structured to meet the needs of this population of people with ID who are in need of easy to implement and cost-effective support and training. Upon completion in Phase II, individuals with ID and their support person will have access to a complete SM-ID program, designed to help them cope with stress more effectively and strengthen their healthy coping skills. The program will provide individuals with ID with engaging, interactive content, including: tools for monitoring progress, text prompts to motivate behavior change, guidance in setting effective value- based goals, strategies for reducing stress, and training in mindfulness-based coping skills. The SM-ID program will be available on a mobile website that can be accessed by smart phones, tablets and computers and will provide realistic situational videos vignettes, and workbook exercises to help individuals with ID deal effectively with stress. In Phase I of this project, we will determine the feasibility of the program by examining primary and secondary outcomes related to a prototype of the SM-ID program.