Assessing support needs in children with intellectual disability and motor impairments: Measurement invariance and group differences

Abstract

Abstract: Background: This study assessed the equivalence ofthe measurement of support needs between childrenwith intellectual disability (ID) and children withintellectual and motor disabilities (IMD) andcompared both groups in the different domains ofsupport.Method: The Supports Intensity Scale-Children?sVersion was used to assess the support needs of713children with ID and286children with IMD, mainlyassociated with cerebral palsy. Results: The results supported measurementinvariance between the group of ID and IMD, whichallowed to conduct comparison between them.Children with IMD scored higher on support needsthan did children without IMD, suggesting thatchildren with IMD needed more support than theirpeers without motor impairments. Furthermore, theID levels interacted with motor impairments: at thehighest levels of ID, groups tended to be similar insupport needs, with high scores and low variability.The greatest differences were found in the domains ofHome and Community activities. Conclusions: This study points to the across-condition of the construct of support needs in popu-lations with intellectual and developmental disabil-ities. However, additional mobility impairmentsshould be considered during the evaluation andplanning of systems of support. In this regard, theSupports Intensity Scale-Children?s Version mighthave limitations when discriminating between sam-ples with high support needs.