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Promoting Self-Determination for Better Health and Wellbeing for Adolescents who have an Intellectual Disability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2013

Suzanne Carrington ,
Nicholas Lennox ,
Michael O'Callaghan ,
Lyn McPherson  and
Gitta Selva
Suzanne Carrington*
Affiliation:
Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Nicholas Lennox
Affiliation:
The University of Queensland, Australia
Michael O'Callaghan
Affiliation:
The University of Queensland, Australia Mater Misericordiae Hospitals, Australia
Lyn McPherson
Affiliation:
The University of Queensland, Australia
Gitta Selva
Affiliation:
Queensland University of Technology, Australia
*
Correspondence: Professor Suzanne Carrington, Head of School, School of Curriculum and Professional Learning, Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Qld 4059, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The focus of this paper is on an Australian research project that evaluated the effectiveness of a resource called the Ask Health Diary, which is used in the school curriculum to promote self-determination for better health and wellbeing for adolescents who have an intellectual disability. Education and health researchers used questionnaires and interviews to gather data from adolescents attending special schools and special education units located in secondary schools in south-east Queensland, their teachers and their parents/carers. This paper reports on two research questions: First, ‘How did the teachers use the Ask Health Diary to promote self-determination in health?’, and second, ‘How did teachers, parents/carers and students perceive the benefits and value of the Ask Health Diary?’ The findings indicate that the Ask Health Diary provides a sound curriculum framework for teachers, adolescents and parents/carers to work together to promote self-determination and better health outcomes for young people who have an intellectual disability.

Keywords

healthintellectual disabilityself-determinationwellbeing
Type
Original Articles
Information
Australasian Journal of Special Education , Volume 38 , Issue 2 , December 2014 , pp. 93 - 114
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2013 

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