Relationship between the Housing Facility Type of Aging Persons who are Developmentally Disabled and their Activities

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between housing facility type and activities of aging persons who are developmentally disabled (ADD) in rural Manitoba, Canada. A pictoral instrument was developed and administered to 29 persons who are ADD living in five facility types. Of thirty activities, residents of senior citizen facilities performed more overall and sedentary activities more frequently than participants who lived in foster homes, community residences, familial homes, or in independent living situations. Respondents who had rooms located off the main floor of the facility spent more time at overall and sedentary activities than respondents whose rooms were on the main floor. Additionally, respondents who received one-to-one training reported more activities overall than respondents who did not receive one-to-one training. Females performed more overall activities and more active ones than males, and females did active activities more frequently than males. Human factors seem to be at least as important as facility type in determining activity patterns. The findings are discussed, suggesting need for more research on the impact of housing upon activities of persons who are ADD, in order to maximally plan living environments. Description of the method of directly questioning the ADD population in this research provides opportunity for replication.