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BACKGROUND Microenterprises are very small businesses requiring little capital and can be an employment pathway for people with intellectual disabilities. This systematic review aims to identify the facilitators, barriers and outcomes from microenterprise. METHOD Web of Science, Scopus, EconLit, PsycINFO and ProQuest were searched to identify peer-reviewed studies on microenterprises owned by people with intellectual disability published up to and including 1 October 2019. RESULTS A total of 1080 papers were independently screened by two reviewers. Six papers met the inclusion criteria. Barriers included lack of access to business expertise and resources, and the tension between growing microenterprises and maintaining eligibility for welfare payments. Formal and informal supports were key facilitators. Outcomes experienced included additional income, skills development, increased confidence and engagement in meaningful activities. CONCLUSION Additional research is required to develop an evidence base which may support investment in this employment pathway, making microenterprise more accessible to people with intellectual disabilities.

People with intellectual disabilities have increased life expectancy compared to just a few decades ago, and there is a lack of knowledge about the experiences of transition into retirement for this group. In this study, semi-structured in-depth interviews with seven retirees with intellectual disabilities were conducted in order to investigate their reasons for retirement, experiences of the transition, their activities and satisfaction with their lives as retirees. Data was analysed with systematic text condensation. Most participants described that, although they experienced the retirement process and transition as abrupt, retirement had a positive impact on health, satisfaction and self-determination. Findings in this novel study in a Nordic context are need of increased knowledge on ageing and retirement among people with intellectual disabilities, and that individual guidance might improve their transition into retirement., How do people with intellectual disabilities in Norway experience the transition to retirement and life as retirees?

Background\ud People who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) can face many challenges in society including accessing education, care and support appropriate to individual needs. However, there is a growing and evolving evidence base about the specific needs of people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in this regard.\ud \ud Aims\ud The aim of this review was to explore the experiences of people with ID who identified as LGBT through an examination of studies that addressed their views and highlighted specific issues, concerns and service responses.\ud \ud Methods and procedures\ud A comprehensive search of relevant databases from February 1995 to February 2015 was conducted. Studies were identified that met specific criteria that included: empirical peer reviewed studies, the use of recognised research methods and focused on people with ID whom identified as LGBT. The search yielded 161 papers in total. The search was narrowed and 37 papers were screened using rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria. Finally, 14 papers were considered suitable for the review.\ud \ud Outcomes and results\ud The data were analysed and key themes identified that included accessing health services, gender and sexual identity, attitudes of people with ID regarding their LGBT status, and education, supports and therapeutic interventions.\ud \ud Conclusions and implications\ud There is a need for service providers and carers to be more responsive to the concerns of people with ID who identify as LGBT to improve their health and well-being by reducing stigma and discrimination and by increasing awareness of their care and support needs. The implications are discussed in terms of policy, education, research and practice developments.

The article reports the evaluation of a small-scale–supported employment project in a local authority in England. The study examined whether or not the peer support model could be used to deliver supported employment to a group of young people with intellectual disabilities. We utilised a mixed-method approach involving activity data, family interviews and a postal survey with participating employers. Five families took part in the study. Our findings show that families viewed the project positively, although it was insufficiently embedded in the wider transition planning. The study indicates that the peer support model may represent a useful addition to the conventional supported employment efforts for this population. However, more research is needed to demonstrate the benefits of peer support over and above the benefits of conventional supported employment for young people in post-school transition. In particular, producing a better evidence base on the exact impact of peer support on service users’ experiences is recommended.

Purpose: Examining everyday challenges in the interactions between people with intellectual disabilities and their staff, as seen from the user’s perspective, is an important perspective in health care research. Involving people with intellectual disabilities as so-called co-researchers is a relatively unexplored research strategy. In this paper, co-researchers participated in all the steps of the research process, from planning to reporting, in addition to the written reporting of the findings. The aim of this study was to explore how people with intellectual disabilities experienced a filmed vignette of an everyday situation. Method: Based on audio-recorded and transcribed individual and focus-group interviews with people with intellectual disabilities, performed by co-researchers with intellectual disabilities together with researchers, qualitative content analysis was used. Results: The analysis reveals three themes: “being emotionally touched”, “being aware of the other”, and “being unclear”. Conclusions: The results are discussed in light of normalization and participation in society with independence and one’s own decision-making. Regarding the care of people with intellectual disabilities, the main finding is the need to focus not only on greater involvement of this population in their own daily lives, but also to teach self-determination skills. Another finding is the importance of involving people with intellectual impairment as co-researchers. Keywords: content analysis, ethical issues, focus-group interviews, intellectual disabilities, vignettes

In Norway, where all citizens are entitled to live in their own homes in their local communities, people with intellectual disabilities receive community-based home care services that aim to promote their ability to live on their own. In our study, we investigated how using an assistive device for cognitive impairment – namely, a memo planner (MP) – in community-based home care services affected the everyday lives of people with intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD). Our sample consisted of seven young adults with IDD and their support staff. Data were collected during field observations and group interviews and analysed via systematic text condensation. The findings illuminate how using an MP can structure the daily lives of young adults with IDD and afford them opportunities to participate in everyday activities. In this article, we discuss how using an MP shapes interactions between people with IDD and their support staff.

Whilst personalization offers the promise of more choice and control and wider participation in the community, the reality in the United Kingdom has been hampered by local council cuts and a decline in formal services. This has left many people with intellectual disabilities feeling dislocated from collective forms of support (Needham, 2015). What fills this gap and does peer advocacy have a role to play? Drawing on a co-researched study undertaken with and by persons with intellectual disabilities, we examined what role peer advocacy can play in a context of reduced day services, austerity and individualized support. The findings reveal that peer advocacy can help people reconnect in the face of declining services, problem-solve issues and informally learn knowledge and skills needed to participate in the community. We argue that peer advocacy thus offers a vital role in enabling people to take up many of the opportunities afforded by personalization.