The city of Colorado Springs, CO, announced in March 2004 its decision to adopt the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) as its official instrument to determine individual support needs for persons with developmental disabilities. Stephen Hall, Executive Director of The Resource Exchange Inc., in Colorado talks to the American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR) about the significance of this move. Mr. Hall played a key role in the adoption of the SIS by Colorado Springs.
AAMR: It is clear from talking to you that you feel passionately about the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS). Can you help us understand why the move towards the adoption of the SIS is significant for you and your colleagues, and persons with developmental disabilities in Colorado Springs?
Mr. Hall: The Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) is the first assessment that recognizes that disability is much more of a social construct than a biological one. Rather than determining what is wrong or deficient within the person, as most current assessments do, the SIS helps us determine what kind, amount, and intensity of supports are needed for someone to succeed in the important areas of his or her individual life. The intent of assessment is providing a foundation for the development of real individualized plans that, when carried out as intended, will improve someone's life. No other currently available assessment can so readily be used to help develop good individual plans.
AAMR: What ultimately prompted Colorado Springs’ decision to officially adopt the Supports Intensity Scale?
Mr. Hall: Federal Medicaid law mandates that an individual assessment of needs be used to help determine the amount of support that each person will receive. Assessments that focus on the person's level of disability are inadequate tools to determine what amount of supports are really necessary in the context of a particular person's life circumstances and environment. The Supports Intensity Scale takes into account the individual person's circumstances in his or her particular community. The SIS doesn't tell us what skills a person has, it tells us what significant supports the person needs to participate in the real life and work of his or her community.
AAMR: How does the Supports Intensity Scale differ from other scales you have come across in the past?
Mr. Hall: The problem with other scales, assessments, individual evaluation tools, etc. is that all of them identify deficiencies and strongly implicate that a course of action be taken that lessens the gap between total competence and where the individual is at the present time. Instead, the Supports Intensity Scale helps determine the scope, duration, and amount of supports that are needed for the person to succeed in the context of his or her community. The SIS is not about remediating discovered human failings. It is about determining the supports needed to reasonably give the individual a good opportunity to succeed.
AAMR: Can you walk us through the official process Colorado Springs went through to adopt the Supports Intensity Scale as its official instrument?
Mr. Hall: Several past State Audits had determined that Colorado does not have a good method for assigning Medicaid resources based on the individual's support needs and the cost of a beneficial service in a particular Colorado community. A search and review of every assessment available for determining individual needs was conducted and resulted in a failure to find an assessment that would determine the support needs of individuals in the context of their own very real life situation. The Supports Intensity Scale was discussed in an AAMR published article by Dr. James Thompson, Chair of the SIS author team. It held promise that an assessment was coming that focused on determining the support needs of the individual person, rather than his or her deficits. Discussions with Dr. Thompson, and later with Dr. Robert Schalock, co-author of SIS, convinced our community that using the SIS would give us the ability to create far better individual plans and to evaluate real community-referenced outcomes.
Currently, 2710 individuals with developmental disabilities in the Colorado Springs community receive some service or support through the Resource Exchange and the area provider organizations that deliver supports directly to people. About 600 professionals are employed either by or through The Resource Exchange in the Pikes Peak Region of Colorado.
The Supports Intensity Scale was published by the American Association on Mental Retardation in January 2004. The SIS is a new assessment tool designed to help professionals plan meaningful supports for adults with mental retardation and intellectual disabilities. The Scale was created by a team of 10 experts in disability and assessment. To learn more about the SIS, visit www.aamr.org
Contacts
Dr. Stephen Hall, Ph: (719) 380-1100 or The Resource Exchange, Inc., 418 South Weber Street Colorado Springs, CO 80903-2150
For questions on the Supports Intensity Scale, contact Anna Prabhala at (202) 387-1968, Ext 212 or annap@aamr.org
Posted on April 30, 2004