"With a Touch of a Button": Staff perceptions on integrating technology in an Irish service provider for people with intellectual disabilities.
BACKGROUND
People with intellectual disabilities continue to underutilize technology, in part due to insufficient training. Because support staff professionals provide instructional support, how they perceive integrating new technologies is important for people with intellectual disabilities.


METHODS
The authors conducted a sequential mixed-methods exploratory study (quan→QUAL) including quantitative data from online surveys completed by 46 staff members and qualitative data from five focus groups attended by 39 staff members.


RESULTS
Quantitative results show strong support for diverse technologies. In contrast, qualitative results suggest that staff members' support of technology decreases when they perceive that technology may jeopardize service users' safety or independence.


CONCLUSIONS
Although staff members identified increasing independence as the main reason to use new technologies with service users, they also worried that technologies used to increase the social inclusion of service users may pose undue risk and thus may limit their embrace of technology.
Women's and Gender Studies, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
Stacy
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1868-1751
S
Clifford Simplican
Human Development, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
Carolyn
C
Shivers
Special Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
June
J
Chen
Department of Psychology, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.
Geraldine
G
Leader
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability; D007494:Ireland; D012656:Self-Help Devices; D058992:Social Participation
mixed methods; people with intellectual disabilities; support staff; technology