Living with Disability Research Centre
Enhancing quality of life and service quality for people with intellectual disabilities
The Living with Disability Research Centre conducts research that aims to improve practices, programs and policies that support the social inclusion and quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities. Our research program focuses on building a robust evidence base for the disability sector and the broader community to improve services and outcomes for people with intellectual disabilities.
New ARC Linkage Grant
The number of older people with intellectual disabilities in the NDIS is growing, yet there is limited evidence about how best to support them to age well. This ARC Linkage Project, led by Tal Araten-Bergman in partnership with four Disability Service Providers Scope will address this knowledge gap. It will develop an evidence-based, lived experience-informed Agenda for Action to guide policy, service design, and practice for supporting NDIS participants with intellectual disabilities to age well. The project includes a PhD scholarship. We are looking for a candidate with a background in social or health sciences to work as part of the team. Further information contact lids@latrobe.edu.au or phone (03) 9479 3826.
THE OBSERVING PRACTICE QUALITY TOOL (OPQ)
The OPQ is an observational tool for assessing the quality of support provided to a person with an intellectual disability. The OPQ can be used by frontline supervisors and service managers as the basis of feedback to help staff to improve their practice. It can also be used by auditors and quality assurance assessors to evaluate service quality. The OPQ has been developed into an app and the training resource explains how to observe and use the tool.