Community conversations on independent living: understanding the perspectives and support needs of persons with disabilities living in the southeast United States.

PURPOSE: The pursuit of independent living outcomes has been a longstanding emphasis of disability policy, practice, and research. Yet the ways in which the experience of independent living is understood and advanced locally warrants more focused attention. This article describes a collaboration among a regional Center for Independent Living (CIL) and university researchers focused on developing more informed programs and supports to promote independent living for persons with disabilities in their service area. METHOD: A total of 75 adults with disabilities attended four "community conversations" during which they provided diverse definitions of independent living and shared a wide range of supports they needed and currently accessed to meet their independent living goals. RESULTS: Attendee conversations generated 14 unique dimensions of independent living and 11 categories of independent living supports. Findings align with existing research asserting independent living as a multifaceted construct and extend the literature to include perspectives across a wider range of disability categories. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that collaborations among Centers for Independent Living and researchers can be a fruitful context for conducting "needs assessments" and soliciting the perspectives of individuals with disabilities on (a) how they conceptualize independent living and (b) the local services and supports they need to attain their independent living goals.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONCommunity conversations are an efficient and engaging way of soliciting the perspectives of community members with a variety of disabilities.Establishing a planning team fluent in universal design, accessibility options, and local needs is critical to implementing effective community conversations.For Centers for Independent Living (CILs), community conversations offer a valuable approach for obtaining substantive stakeholder input to inform strategic planning.CILS could play an active role in equipping transition-age students with the skills, knowledge, relationships, and linkages needed to attain their independent living goals in early adulthood.

Blurring the Boundaries: Reflections From Early Career Faculty During the COVID-19 Era.

The last three issues of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) have featured perspectives from a diverse set of contributors on how the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is being impacted by COVID-19. As four newly appointed faculty members with diverse backgrounds, the editor of IDD invited us to share our experiences with beginning academic careers during this unique time. In making this request, he pointed out that approximately half the members of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) are those who have some type of affiliation with an institution of higher education. While the perspectives outlined in this article do not represent those of all early career faculty, we hope our stories resonate with IDD readers who may be facing similar circumstances. This article includes a series of brief essays addressing how the pandemic has affected our academic job searches, research, teaching, and service. Although penned by different authors, each section encompasses our collective experiences, concerns, and hopes for the broader IDD community. We close with guiding questions that might support more socially responsive and integrated approaches to traditional academic roles as faculty continue to navigate the repercussions of COVID-19.

Engaging Communities in Identifying Local Strategies for Expanding Integrated Employment During and After High School.

Amidst decades of attention directed toward improving employment outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), few efforts have been made to engage communities in identifying local solutions for expanding integrated employment opportunities. We examined the implementation and outcomes of "community conversation" events held in 6 geographically and economically diverse locales. Each event used an asset-based dialogue approach called the World Café ( Brown & Isaacs, 2005 ) to solicit ideas from a broad cross-section of community members on improving integrated employment that reflect local priorities and possibilities. Six key themes encapsulated the 1,556 strategies generated by the almost 400 attendees. Although considerable consistency was found among the categories of strategies raised across events, the manner in which those individual strategies would be implemented locally reflected the unique accent of each community. Attendees also viewed these events as promising and productive pathways for identifying next steps for their community. We offer recommendations for community-level intervention efforts and suggest directions for future research.