A Descriptive Analysis of the Relationships between Social Context, Engagement and Stereotypy in Residential Services for People with Severe and Complex Disabilities

Observational data on 40 people with severe intellectual disabilities and sensory impairments were analysed to determine the relationship between user engagement, stereotypy and the nature of staff support received. The results indicated that (1) practical support was associated with an increased probability of engagement for 94% and decreased stereotypy for 98% of participants; (2) other forms of contact were associated with a decreased probability of engagement for 77% and decreased stereotypy for 79% of participants; (3) episodes of no contact were associated with significantly elevated rates of stereotypy in all participants; (4) practical support was significantly more likely to be associated with an increase in the odds of engagement than either no contact or other forms of contact; (5) no contact was significantly more likely to be associated with an increase in the odds of stereotypy than either practical support or other forms of contact; (6) practical support appeared to have more impact on engagement in less institutionalised services, services which experienced lower rates of staff sickness, and in services which provided more regularly scheduled social activities.