Communication quality indicators: A survey of Connecticut group home managers

Thirty-one Connecticut group home managers responded to a 23-statement survey adapted from the Communications Supports Checklist for Programs Serving Individuals with Severe Disabilities (CSC; McCarthy et al., 1998, Paul H. Brookes, Baltimore, MD.). Results indicated that group home managers had very favorable opinions about the implementation of communication quality indicators in their group homes, and the degree of a resident's intellectual disability was not a factor in communication supports implementation. Three communication quality indicators were rated especially high: program philosophy, protection of communication rights, and assessment. Environmental support for communication was rated less favorably. Follow-up interviews with seven group home managers found that they especially valued direct care staff who understood a resident's idiosyncratic communication (e.g., response sensitivity). Managers also relied on team process for referral for ongoing speech-language consultation. Results from the surveys and interviews indicated that augmentative communication applications occurred less often than other quality communication indicators.