Adaptive Behaviour Training for People with Intellectual Disabilities (ADAPT-ID)

The rate of psychiatric comorbidities with affective and anxiety disorders is about 11 times higher for people with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) compared to the general population. A major reason for the poor mental health in people with ID is having limited adaptive skills putting people with ID at increased risk of social exclusion, a key determinant of poor mental health. One way to promote the inclusion and well-being of people with ID is through Adaptive Behaviour training. Adaptive behaviour is the collection of conceptual, social, and practical skills that are learned and performed by people in their everyday lives. As Virtual Reality (VR) is making an appearance in the health sector with promising results, the safe and controlled environment of a VR application can be used for training adaptive behaviour. The ADAPT-ID project will explore the extent to which digital interventions promote participation/inclusion leading to well-being and mental health for people with ID. We aim to better address mental health issues of persons with ID by developing and piloting strategies to empower them using the opportunities provided by VR.

Keywords:intellectual disabilities, VR training, adaptive behaviour

Disciplines:Disabilities and developmental disorders, Human-centred design, Virtual reality and related simulation