Kelly Carr-Kirby

Background: Strengths‐based employment services focused on the abilities of people with intellectual disabilities challenge traditional, deficits‐based orientations. Within the presence of hope, which sustains collective effort toward a preferred future, such employment services may stimulate social change. Therefore, the presence of hope was examined within strengths‐based employment settings for adults with intellectual disabilities to understand its potential to establish inclusive workplaces. Methods: Employees with intellectual disabilities supported by strength‐based employment services, as well as their employers and co‐workers, completed semi‐structured interviews. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Hope was present within strength‐based employment services through the (a) co‐sharing of strengths, (b) movement toward a shared, preferred future, (c) alignment of personal and collective goals, and (d) (co)transformation of interacting parties. Conclusion: Implementing strengths‐based employment services for people with intellectual disabilities is supported, as it facilitates the cultivation of hope and thus movement toward inclusive and equitable workplaces.

Strengths-based media coverage of people with disability challenges deficits-based perceptions of impairment that are elicited through a traditional, medical model. As an evaluation of strengths-based media coverage, we examined the impact of viewing Paralympic media coverage on explicit attitudes toward people with disability. University students (N = 135, M_age = 20.2 years) were assigned to a 12-day experimental condition of viewing either (a) Paralympic events (n = 47), (b) Olympic events (n = 48), or (c) no media coverage (n = 40). Attitudes toward disability were assessed pre- and postintervention using the Attitudes to Disability Scale. Repeated-measures profile analysis with a doubly multivariate design did not reveal improved attitudes toward disability after viewing Paralympic media coverage. Supporting previous work that questioned the ability of the Paralympic Games to alter perceptions of disability, these results suggest that the International Paralympic Committee is not achieving their intended legacy of inclusion.

Engagement with life is essential to successful aging. This study explored ‘how’ and ‘why’ engagement profiles change throughout older adulthood using a mixed methods design. Fifty-four participants (mean age = 79.17 years, age range = 65–97 years; 21 males, 33 females) completed questionnaires to quantify ‘past’ and ‘present’ engagement. Focus groups and semi-structured interviews were completed with a subsample of participants (n = 42). Results highlight participation in a variety of activities across the decades of older adulthood, and identify that engagement in productive and active leisure pursuits decreased in frequency with increasing age, while the frequency of social and passive leisure activities remained stable. Changes in engagement were a function of five themes derived from the fundamental qualitative description: (a) health and physical limitations, (b) death, (c) freedom, (d) desire, and (e) external influential factors. Patterns of engagement frequency are interpreted in consideration of qualitative findings, creating an integrated discussion of ‘how’ and ‘why’ activity profiles emerge during older adulthood. This study highlights the value of a mixed methods approach when examining engagement in older adulthood, and provides practical implications for practitioners who seek to support a successful aging process.