SMART recovery for youth: a small, exploratory qualitative study examining the potential of a mutual-aid, peer support addictive behaviour change program for young people.

BACKGROUND: SMART (Self-Management and Recovery Training) Recovery is a mutual-aid program informed by cognitive behaviour therapy and motivational interviewing that provides support for a range of addictive behaviours. SMART Recovery has not been adapted to target young people with addictive behaviours despite the potential to overcome important barriers affecting youth engagement in other addiction programs. This study aimed to engage young people and SMART Recovery facilitators in qualitative interviews and focus groups to explore the potential of such a program and gain specific insights for its development. METHODS: We conducted qualitative interviews and a focus group with five young people (aged between 14 and 24 years) and eight key stakeholders (including seven SMART Recovery facilitators) to obtain recommendations on how best to reach, engage, and support young people with addictive behaviours in a tailored SMART Recovery program. Qualitative data was transcribed and analysed using iterative categorization. RESULTS: Five key themes were identified when developing and delivering youth-targeted SMART Recovery. [1] 'Discussing personal experiences to promote a shared identity' refers to the benefits of creating a forum where personal stories are used to connect with others and validate one's experiences. [2] 'Flexible and patient approach' emphasises a preference for facilitators to take a more gentle, less direct approach that allows for discussion beyond addictive behaviours. [3] 'Balancing information and skills with the space for discussion' acknowledges that youth want to connect in a variety of ways, beyond discussion of addictive behaviours, and that they wish to lead skill sharing and development. [4] 'Conveying a community for youth through language' highlighted the need to focus on connecting youth and to avoid the use of generic language to engage young people. [5] 'Group logistics and competing demands' refers to the logistical considerations of implementing a group program for youth that takes into account their competing demands and group accessibility. CONCLUSION: The findings point to considerations for developing youth specific mutual-aid groups, in particular a youth-targeted SMART Recovery program, such as by ensuring the conversation is youth-led and with an informal and flexible approach to guide group discussion.

Features of employment-related technology for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A thematic analysis.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to identify, extract, summarize and list the features of applied cognitive technology used to support employment-related outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. METHOD: Thematic analysis was employed on a published research base of 41 studies obtained through a larger scoping review of the literature on the same topic. RESULTS: The thematic analysis identified 109 technology features categorized into 14 main categories of features, which were grouped into three over-arching categories, Output, Input and General Features. The majority of the studies comprised "Output" features with "Audio" features being the most frequent category. Studies using more sophisticated technology incorporated a wider range of features and a larger number of references. CONCLUSIONS: Further investigation regarding the association of specific technology features with the enhancement of various cognitive functions will assist the decision making and technology selection process.

Technology use to support employment-related outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disability: an updated meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to update and extend an original meta-analysis which included papers published up to and including 2003 and investigated the impact of technology use on employment-related outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disability. METHODS: Following on from the original meta-analysis, this study is a meta-analysis of pertinent single-subject experimental design studies conducted from 2004 to 2016 and employs the same metric methods as the original contribution. RESULTS: The results are generally consistent with those of the original meta-analysis, namely, applied cognitive technology effectively supports employment-related outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disability. Nevertheless, significant differences in the intervention effects were found (a) between groups of individuals with varying levels of disability, and (b) between interventions utilizing technology with and without universal design features. CONCLUSIONS: In line with the original contribution, applied cognitive technology seems to support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to better achieve employment-related outcomes. More research is needed though to explore the impact of different types of technology on employment-related outcomes.