A 6-month follow-up of the effects of an information and communication technology (ICT) training programme on people with intellectual disabilities

We investigated the long-term effects of an information and communication technology (ICT) training programme for people with intellectual disabilities (ID). A community-based ICT training programme was designed to enhance the computer skills of people with ID and prepare them to make use of ICT in their daily life. Of the 100 who had participated in the original ICT training programme, 59 of them and their caregivers agreed to participate in the follow-up interview. A computer skills checklist was used to assess the ICT competence of the participants before training, after training, and at the 6-month follow-up assessment. All caregivers were interviewed at the 6-month follow-up session to explore the use of ICT by people with ID and their needs for further training. Results from repeated measures ANOVA showed that participants maintained at the 6-month follow-up the basic ICT skills that they acquired during training [F = 13.86, p < 0.001]. Caregivers reported that participants spent more time in using the computers, but still needed occasional guidance. They also reported a need to advance their ICT skills beyond the basic computer training. We concluded that ICT training for people with ID would help them in maximizing the benefits of information technology via computers. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.