Program Change Strategies

Overview

The previous chapter summarized a number of habilitation strategies based on a person-environment approach to the assessment and habilitation of adults with disabilities. The three general strategies discussed included behavior skill training, use of prosthetics, and environmental accommodation. As we stated in the previous chapter, we believe these are effective techniques for reducing important mismatches between persons and their living-work-leisure/recreation environments, and thereby contributing to the person’s growth and development. In this chapter, we shift our focus from the person to the program and suggest that the three trends we have mentioned frequently—natural environment, empowerment, and accountability—are having a significant impact on the way habilitation programs are planning for and providing services. For example, the current movement toward accessing integrated employment and living opportunities by using transitional, intermittent, and ongoing supports has clearly provided opportunities for adults with disabilities to increase their independence, productivity, and integration in the community. In the next few years, the authors believe that the movement will focus on truly generic, integrated opportunities for adults with disabilities where ongoing services are provided as needed. Thus, the distinctions that are currently made among different types of employment and residential arrangements may be considerably less dramatic as the entire service delivery system moves toward the concept of generic supports for adults with disabilities in integrated living and work settings.