By Lisa Watts
Researchers are studying older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities—and their needs for long-term services and supports.
Increased life expectancy is helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) outlive their aging parents and reach old age for the first time, according to gerontologist Danielle Waldron. But while older adults with I/DD represent a growing percentage of the older adult population, little is known about their needs for long-term services and supports (LTSS) or the ability of LTSS settings to meet those needs.
To fill this information gap, Waldron, an assistant professor of healthcare management at Stonehill College in Easton, MA, and Jeffrey Stokes, an assistant professor of gerontology at UMass Boston, are creating a snapshot describing older adults with I/DD who are faring well, and the settings that are best able to meet their unique needs.
“In general, people with I/DD are an under-surveyed population,” Stokes says. “We often don’t ask enough questions about them or their experiences.”
Read more at the Gerontology Institute Blog.