Community participation and staying home if you want: US adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Background: Requiring adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to go on community outings with co-residents and staff is contrary to community-living policy's focus on person centredness and choice of activities/companions.

Method: We analysed 2018-19 National Core Indicators data from 36 US states concerning 7968 adults living in staffed, non-family, multi-client settings. The focus outcome was being able to stay home if you want when others in your home go out.

Results: The 42.0% of participants who could stay home were more likely to go out with friends, family or alone, and less likely to go out with staff. Those who could stay home participated in a similar variety of community activities and went out more often to shop or for errands.

Conclusions: Individuals who could stay home likely had more choice about where, when and with whom they went out. Strategies for greater person-centredness are proposed.