NEIGHBOURHOOD WALKS: A SEMI-QUANTITATIVE METHOD FOR ASSESSING THE ACCESS PEOPLE WITH A LEARNING DIFFICULTY HAVE TO RESOURCES IN THEIR COMMUNITY

A method is presented for assessing the extent to which people with mental handicaps living in residential homes can independently locate resources available in their communities. A range of facilities necessary to an ordinary life is plotted on a map for each home. The person is then accompanied on a ‘neighbourhood walk’ on which they are asked to take the researcher to each of the facilities on the list. Data from a reliability study based on two assessments carried out by independent researchers eight months apart showed a very high correlation for the number of facilities correctly located (Pearson's r was 0.96). In addition to this quantitative data, the neighbourhood walk provides qualitative data, of the kind normally associated with ethnographic studies, which allows some assessment of the extent of social as well as physical integration. Data collected independently of care staff was shown to be reliable and can be summarised in a way that allows comparisons of different kinds of home.