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The Storm and Mobility
Feb 11th, 2013 by | No Comments YetThe recent storm in the North East dropped two to three feet of snow across the region. Three days later, getting to work was difficult for everyone. Many driveways weren’t plowed, the sidewalks were slippery, and buses and subways weren’t running on time. That got us thinking about how snow might impede the transportation of those surveyed by NCI. We decided to take a closer look at what the 2011-2012 Consumer Survey data show about mobility and transportation of individuals with ID/DD.
The following table demonstrates the mobility of survey respondents:
Mobility
N
Percentage of Total
Moves self around environment without aids
9216
76.2%
Moves self around environment with aids or uses wheelchair independently
1714
14.2%
Non-ambulatory, always needs assistance
1134
9.4%
Don’t know
23
0.2%
Total
12087
100%
About three quarters of survey respondents move themselves around without the use of aids of any sort, while 14% use aids independently. Approximately 10% of respondents are fully non-ambulatory and need assistance moving at all times.The following table demonstrates how survey respondents get where they need to go. The percentages will not add up to 100%, because respondents often named several types of transport they used. Also, for the purposes of this blog post, any differences by type of mobility have not been analyzed for statistical significance.
Mobility
Transfers self
Ride from family or friends
Ride from staff in staff’s car
Ride from staff in provider vehicle
Public transport
Specialized transport
Taxi
Don’t know/
unclear responseMoves self around environment without aids
16.5%
41.5%
27.1%
43.2%
12.2%
8.2%
3.2%
12.5%
Moves self around environment with aids or uses wheelchair independently
6.9%
30.3%
20.5%
49.9%
7.3%
11.7%
1.9%
18.5%
Non-ambulatory, always needs assistance
0.7%
21.9%
9.8%
30.7%
2.0%
9.8%
0.3%
45.0%
From the above table we can see that a large portion of respondents of all mobility levels use provider-provided transportation to get where they are going. Slightly fewer respondents state that they receive transportation from family or friends. Comparatively, very few respondents take a taxi, while slightly more take public transport and/or specialized transport.Getting where you need to go is difficult for everyone after a huge snowstorm like Nemo. But as we clean our driveways and front walks, it is important to consider the movement of people of all mobility abilities.
Please note: The 2011-12 data reports will be released and placed on the NCI website this Spring. For more in depth analysis of previous year’s NCI consumer survey data, please see http://www.nationalcoreindicators.org.
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Data Briefs
Feb 4th, 2013 by | No Comments YetWe at NCI periodically produce data briefs to bring attention to interesting trends and phenomena that we see in the data. These data briefs can be used to support policy-making and advocacy efforts within the states. In addition, these briefs can be used to further our knowledge about a specific population and their experience of state services.
Our most recent data brief uses data from the 2010-2011 administration of NCI to discuss the population of NCI respondents who utilize psychotropic medication.
NCI asks about the utilization of four types of medication: those prescribed for mood disorders, those prescribed for anxiety problems, those prescribed for psychotic disorders and those prescribed for behavior challenges. Of the total NCI sample, 53% took a medication to address at least one of the above conditions. Notably, 38% of those taking medications were prescribed medications to address a mood disorder. In addition, of those taking medications, 14% were taking medications to address all four conditions listed above.
We encourage you to look at the data brief to see more in depth analysis and discussion. The data brief can be accessed here: http://www.nationalcoreindicators.org/upload/core-indicators/Psych_NCI_Data_Brief_final.pdf
Additional data briefs can be seen at the bottom of the “Reports” page on our website. http://www.nationalcoreindicators.org/resources/reports/
Please let me know if you have any ideas for interesting data brief topics. Email me at dhiersteiner@hsri.org
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Self Advocacy!
Jan 31st, 2013 by | No Comments YetSelf-advocacy is the ability to assert oneself and communicate clearly about one’s needs. The AAIDD page on self-advocacy defines self advocacy for those with a disability in the following way:
“Advocacy gives a person with a disability a chance speak up for themselves and others. By letting individuals tell others how they feel about issues that affect their lives, they can educate the public about persons with disabilities and how they can be included in all aspects of community life.” http://www.aaidd.org/content_192.cfm?navID=69
According to the 2011-2012 NCI data, 31% of all respondents stated that they had had the opportunity to participate in a self advocacy event.
It is compelling to look at whether a respondent has had the opportunity to participate in self advocacy by age (Table 1).
Table 1: Opportunity to participate in self advocacy by age in 2011-2012
Age categories
Total
18-25
26-40
41-65
66+
No
77%
69%
67%
71%
69%
Had opportunity
23%
31%
33%
29%
31%
It is interesting to note that the individuals who claim to have had the least opportunity to participate in self-advocacy are those between the ages of 18 and 25, followed by those aged 66 and above.
Fortunately, there are several resources available for individuals who would like to participate in self advocacy, or for those who would like to encourage others to become self advocates. Self-advocacy Online (www.selfadvocacyonline.org) is a site designed by the Research & Training Center on Community Living out of the University of Minnesota. The site is easy to navigate and offers several tools, videos and tutorials to encourage individuals to pursue self-advocacy. There are links to local self-advocacy organizations, and a page for news on self-advocacy. Perhaps the most motivational aspect of the site is the page dedicated to personal reflections on self-advocacy. These short video clips show self-advocates discussing the importance of speaking up for oneself and actively promoting one’s best interests.
In addition, the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD) identified a need to better understand the current state of the self advocacy movement. As a result, AIDD, in collaboration with the Developmental Disabilities network, self-advocates, and allies, organized a series of nine regional summits across the country. The summits, held in 2011 and 2012, aimed to promote understanding and collaboration between self advocates and state and local policy makers. Here is the website created from the summits http://alliesinselfadvocacy.org/. From these summits, several summary reports were produced. They can be seen here http://alliesinselfadvocacy.org/2012-summit-report-2/ . We can hope for more self advocate participation in the policy making process in the future!
Please note: The 2011-12 data reports will be released and placed on the NCI website this Spring. For more in depth analysis of previous year’s NCI consumer survey data, please see http://www.nationalcoreindicators.org.