Inclusion Melbourne is proud that a formative evaluation of our leisure buddy volunteer program is to be published in the scientific literature. The article, titled ‘Design and Implementation of a Leisure Buddy Program’ and co-authored by our Leisure Buddy co-ordinator, Lorraine Raskin, will be published in an upcoming edition of the journal Research and Practice in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. The leisure buddy program commenced with the recognition that many people with intellectual disabilities are isolated and lonely. This article describes the program design and initial implementation issues and outcomes arising from the leisure buddy program, which is one approach to building social connections between people with and without intellectual disabilities. This program matches a community volunteer with an adult with intellectual disability, with the aim that each leisure buddy pair would spend regular social and recreation time together in various community settings. Data were collected during the first 18 months of the program’s operation.
Inclusion Melbourne is proud that this research contributes to the scientific literature and provides an understanding of a role of formal services in establishing social relationships for people with intellectual disabilities. More details can be found here.
Inclusion Melbourne is actively undertaking research and evaluation across its range of supports to document, share and learn from our practices, so that our supports are of the highest standards.
