Adaptive behaviour in Australia : what items are essential for assessing independent living?

Adaptive behaviour is important in the assessment of eligibility for intellectual disability services. However, there is some question about which behaviours should be assessed. The purpose of the present study was to clarify which everyday behaviours are considered essential for independent functioning by young adults in the Australian community. Parents, disability workers, and young adults judged the importance of 130 everyday behaviours. Items that assessed safety, health, self-care, functional literacy and numeracy, respecting others' rights, and day-to-day decisionmaking were most frequently rated as essential for independent functioning. Our findings raise important questions about the assessment of adaptive behaviour in Australia, and point to the need for a more valid approach to the measurement of adaptive behaviour for the purpose of eligibility assessment. The research provides a first step towards providing such a scale for use in the Australian context.