Poster on quality of life
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Answer:
Measuring Quality of Life
Issues in defining and measuring Quality of Life pose genuine challenges and consideration of the extensive literature covering these issues is beyond the scope of this introduction. You can access resources that tackle these issues elsewhere on this website
Nevertheless, it is now widely agreed that Quality of Life needs to be conceptualised as being multi-dimensional. Schalock’s universal and widely accepted QoL model is based on three broad dimensions – Independence, Social Participation and Well-being with each divided into more specific sub domains such as personal development, interpersonal relationships, social inclusion, emotional well-being etc.
Schalock’s model holds particular appeal for a school such as ours because of the special emphasis we give to developing our autistic students’ attitudes, skills and knowledge in Communication, Self- Management, Independence and Achievements-four domains that fit well into this model.
Existing measures of QoL incorporate many of Schalock’s dimensions into rating scales or questionnaires. While many of these measurement tools exist for the general population as well as for specific medical conditions and disabilities, Tavernor’s 2013 systematic review found no condition-specific QoL measure for autism. Generic QoL measures had been used with autistic individuals and their families but it has been suggested that these generic measures may not be sufficiently sensitive to the unique challenges faced by autistic children and their parents (Payakachat et al 2012).