Linda Hickson

Predictive factors of participation in postsecondary education for high school leavers with autism.

This exploratory study was designed to identify the factors predictive of participation in postsecondary education for high school leavers with autism. A secondary data analysis of the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2 (NLTS2) data was performed for this study. Potential predictors of participation in postsecondary education were assessed using a backward logistic regression analysis. This study found that the high school’s primary post-high school goal for the student, parental expectations, high school type, annual household income, and academic performance were significant predictors of participation in postsecondary education. The findings of this current study may provide critical information for parents of children with autism as well as educators and professionals who work with students with autism.

Evaluation of a decision-making curriculum designed to empower women with mental retardation to resist abuse.

The effectiveness of an abuse-prevention curriculum, designed to empower women with mental retardation to become effective decision-makers able to protect themselves against abuse was examined. Thirty-six women with mental retardation were randomly assigned to either an intervention or a control group. Results indicate that the performance of the women in the intervention group was superior to that of the women in the control group on measures of knowledge, decision-making, and empowerment but not on a measure of stress management. The findings suggest that women with mental retardation can acquire effective decision-making strategies and apply them to situations of abuse in their lives.

Decision-making by adults with mental retardation in simulated situations of abuse.

The ability of women and men with mental retardation to suggest prevention-focused decisions in response to simulated social interpersonal situations of abuse was investigated. Decision-making performance across three types of abusive situations (physical, sexual, psychological/verbal) was examined. Participants were able to suggest direct prevention-focused decisions aimed at resisting or stopping abuse 45% of the time and other-dependent prevention-focused decisions in the form of reporting 20% of the time. Prevention-focused decision-making was higher in situations of physical abuse (59%) than in situations of sexual (51%) or psychological/verbal abuse (26%). Women and men did not differ significantly in their decision-making responses.

Profiles of women who have mental retardation with and without a documented history of abuse.

Thirty-six women with mental retardation were divided into two groups on the basis of whether they had a documented history of abuse during the preceding 5 years. The women with this history were more likely than the women with no documented history of abuse to be employing passive/avoidant decision-making strategies, reporting higher levels of stress, having dual diagnoses, be receiving counseling, and relying on others to go out into the community. We recommend that special attention be paid to designing interventions that are tailored to the specific needs of these women.

A closer look at interpersonal decision-making in adults with and without mental retardation.

Two experiments were conducted to examine the interpersonal decision-making performance of women and men with and without mental retardation. In Experiment 1, adults with mental retardation listened to either short or long vignettes depicting situations in which a female or male protagonist was faced with a decision involving either a peer or authority figure. In Experiment 2, adults without mental retardation were presented with long versions of the vignettes. As expected, the task was considerably more difficult for the participants with mental retardation, possibly because of differences in their ability to fully comprehend the social situations. Women in both studies outperformed men. Results suggest that emotional and motivational factors may have contributed to these differences.

The Role of Motivation in the Decision Making of Adolescents with Mental Retardation

Publisher Summary This chapter provides a brief overview of some key issues of adolescent development, as identified in the general literature. To the extent possible, these issues are linked to what is known about adolescents with mental retardation. The chapter covers important theoretical and developmental perspectives on decision-making and motivation in individuals without disabilities. The chapter focuses upon research and theory pertaining to the role of motivation in the personal and interpersonal decision making of individuals with mental retardation with a focus on adolescents. The chapter concludes with a discussion of new directions and implications for the design of motivation‐based interventions to enable adolescents with mental retardation to make effective decisions in important areas of their lives.

Cross-cultural comparison of Interpersonal problem-solving in students with mental retardation

This study was conducted to investigate the problem-solving performance, style, and cross-cultural differences of students with mild mental retardation representing three cultural backgrounds (African American, European American, and Nigerian). Students listened to vignettes (Edeh Scale of Interpersonal Problem Situations) depicting interpersonal problem situations in which a target person was described as facing a problem situation with a specified goal that needed independent resolution. Significant cultural differences were found in problem-solving performance and in style among the three cultural groups. Overall, Nigerians generated more independent responses than did European Americans and African Americans and European Americans generated more independent responses than did African Americans. Overall, males generated more independent problem-solving responses than did females.

Mathematical Word Problem Solving Ability of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their Typically Developing Peers.

This study examined the difference between children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and children with typical development (TD) in mathematical word problem solving ability and the factors associated with these childrens word problem-solving ability. A total of 20 children with ASD and 20 children with TD participated in this study. Independent sample t tests and Spearman’s rho correlations were used for data analysis. This study found: (a) Children with TD had higher word problem solving ability than did children with ASD; (b) Sentence comprehension, math vocabulary, computation, and everyday mathematical knowledge were associated with word problem solving ability of children with ASD and children with TD; and (c) Children with TD had higher everyday mathematical knowledge than did children with ASD.

Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate an Abuse Prevention Curriculum for Women and Men With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

This study was designed (a) to assess the impact of the ESCAPE-DD curriculum on the decision-making skills of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in hypothetical situations of abuse, (b) to examine the role of problem awareness, and (c) to identify factors associated with posttest decision-making performance. Fifty-eight women and men with IDD were randomly assigned to an intervention group or a wait-list control group. Participants who experienced ESCAPE-DD made significantly greater gains on measures of overall effective decision making and safe-now effective decision-making relative to participants in the control group. Problem awareness was related to decision making, but it did not improve as a result of the intervention. Implications of the findings for future curriculum-development efforts are discussed.

Empowering Women with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities to Resist Abuse in Interpersonal Relationships: Promising Interventions and Practices

Women with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience heightened rates of domestic violence and all forms of abuse in their interpersonal relationships (e.g., Barger et al. Intellect Dev Disabil 47(4):249–262, 2009; Ward et al. Intellect Dev Disabil 48(2):89–98, 2010). After reviewing studies conducted between 2000 and 2010, Hughes et al. (Rehabil Psychol 56(4):302–319, 2011) reported that up to 90% of women with IDD experience some form of abuse during their lifetime. Almost all of the abuse is perpetrated by someone who is known to the victim, including intimate partners, family members, and paid caregivers (e.g., Stevens. J Ment Health Res Intellect Disabil 5:168–186, 2012). In the present chapter, the terms abuse and maltreatment are used interchangeably to refer to the full range of intentional harm experienced by individuals with IDD. This encompasses the various terms appearing in the literature to describe sexual abuse, physical abuse, and verbal/emotional abuse.