Strategy for transition of adolescents with intellectual disablities into adulthood

Abstract

Transition into adulthood has been regarded as a priority in health. However, there is scarcity of literature on the transition of adolescents with intellectual disability. The purpose of this study was to develop a strategy for transition of adolescents with intellectual disabilities into adulthood based on the Transition Theory proposed by Meleis, Sawyer, Im, Hilfinger and Schumacher (2000). The research objectives of this study were in three phases: Phase I: Desk review  To explore the known factors about the transition process of adolescents with IDs into adulthood.  To identify gaps in literature on the transition of adolescents with intellectual disabilities’ transition into adulthood. Phase II: Mixed method  To explore and describe the experiences of caregivers and health care professionals on the transition of adolescents with IDs into adulthood.  To investigate challenges that hamper the transition process of adolescents with IDs into adulthood. Phase III: Development of strategy  To develop a strategy for transition of adolescents with IDs into adulthood informed by findings from phases I and II. A sequential exploratory mixed method approach was used. A purposive, snowballing and simple random sampling were used to select participants for this study. The study was conducted in Special schools, Non-Governmental Organisations and Care and Rehabilitation Centres based in Gauteng province of South Africa. Triangulation of data sources and data collection methods was used to sample one hundred and forty nine (149) participants aged 21-60+ years who experienced caring for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Interpretative analysis proposed by Terrablanche. Durrheim and Kelly (2006) was used for qualitative data limited to a sample of n=29 participants. Quantitative data was analysed by use of IBM Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS: 24) with a blend of descriptive and inferential statistics limited to a sample of n=120. Five themes from both qualitative and quantitative results emerged that is, transition possibility; the role of different stakeholders; the provision and development of working skills; caregivers’ knowledge and understanding of guidelines and alterations to adapt to change. The development of the transition strategy bridged a significant gap that informs nurses, teachers, parents, policy-makers and other stakeholders in supporting transition of adolescents with intellectual disabilities into adulthood.