Empowerment training and direct support professionals' attitudes about individuals with intellectual disabilities

The purpose of this study was to determine if viewing a training video on empowerment of individuals with an intellectual and developmental disability would change the attitudes of direct support professionals (DSPs). Participants were 43 DSPs from a human service provider to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We randomly assigned them to one of two groups. A control group completed the Community Living Attitude Scale (CLAS-MR) without viewing a training video on empowerment until after CLAS-MR completion. The experimental group viewed the video on empowerment and then completed the CLAS-MR. The hypothesis was supported in that DSPs who viewed the video prior to CLAS-MR completion had significantly more empowering attitudes towards individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities compared to the control group.