Ageing and intellectual disability in Israel: A study to compare community residence with living at home

The present study was conducted to compare ageing phenomena in people
with intellectual disabilities aged 40 years and above living in community
residences (n = 29) with those living with their families (n = 31). The goals
were to compare the health status between the two types of settings, to
compare the health status between the study sample and the general Israeli
population of the same age group, and to investigate whether deterioration
occurs among the participants in activities of daily living (ADLs), cognitive
ability and leisure activity. Health problems had already appeared by
40 years of age among the participants. The most frequent problems were
visual impairment (33%), hearing impairments (20%) and heart problems
(20%). Dental problems were found in 30%. The community-based residence
group displayed more medical problems than people living at home,
whereas individuals living at home had more dental problems. The
functioning of the participants in the ADL areas was high, with no evident
decline reported during the previous 5 years. Concerning leisure time, a
decline in functioning in both residential groups was observed, and
interestingly, the scores for social life and leisure activities were better for the
community-based residential group. There is a need for better dental service
provision for people with intellectual disabilities living at home. The data
provided in the current study can serve as a preliminary base for the
development of geriatric services for older adults with intellectual
disabilities in the community and also provide a basis for further
comparison with peers in the general population