Date Submitted
6-11-2025
Faculty Advisor
Amy Sickel
Abstract
Intellectual disability is defined by subaverage intellectual and adaptive functioning, and people with this diagnosis require individual supports to meet their needs and participate in society most effectively. People with intellectual disability are now living longer than at any time in history and their quality of life may depend on the supports they receive. Quality of life is conceptualized through various domains, e.g., interpersonal relations, social inclusion, and emotional well-being. Conditions in one domain have the potential to impact circumstances in other domains. Older adults and people with intellectual disability experienced the greatest negative impact to their quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current qualitative study sought to determine if the important relationships in the lives of older adults with intellectual disability were impacted by the pandemic, and if so, how changes in these relationships affected other domains of their quality of life during the pandemic. Semi-structured interviews with older adults with intellectual disability determined that their important relationships ameliorated the negative effects of the pandemic. The themes identified in the interviews are Connection, Loss and Distress, Empowerment, Helping, Technology Use, and Faith. The important relationships of older adults with intellectual disability affected several other quality of life domains during the pandemic. Future research is needed to better understand how caregivers were affected by the pandemic, as well as how the important relationships of older adults with intellectual disability who differ from the study sample were affected, and the impact it may have had their quality of life.
