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. 2025 May;38(3):e70077.
doi: 10.1111/jar.70077.

Thriving for Adolescents With Intellectual Disability: A Photo-Elicitation Qualitative Study

Annie S Mills  1 , Teresa Sellitto  1 , Dallas D Sorken  2 , Katie Saunders  3 , Lauren Bishop  4 , Jan Willem Gorter  5 , Jonathan A Weiss  1
Affiliations

Thriving for Adolescents With Intellectual Disability: A Photo-Elicitation Qualitative Study

Annie S Mills et al. J Appl Res Intellect Disabil. 2025 May.

Abstract

Background: There has been a shift in recent decades towards studying the strengths of people with intellectual disability to promote wellbeing. This study developed a conceptualisation of thriving specific to adolescents with intellectual disability.

Method: A photo-elicitation qualitative design was used. Participants were 12 adolescents (ages 12-19) with a diagnosis of intellectual disability and their parents. Adolescents and their parents separately chose photos demonstrating thriving for the adolescent. Semi-structured interviews were conducted.

Results: Reflexive thematic analysis was used. Five core themes that interact and contribute to thriving were developed: Enjoying Life, Developing, Having a Positive Sense of Self, Connecting, and Mattering. Parents also identified the importance of adolescents being Safe & Supported.

Conclusions: This thriving framework can serve as a guiding template for community supports and future quantitative research studies for adolescents with intellectual disability.

Keywords: adolescents; flourishing; intellectual disability; parents; photo‐elicitation; positive psychology; reflexive thematic analysis; thriving; wellbeing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Conceptual framework of thriving for adolescents with intellectual disability. Note: The main themes developed from adolescent and parent reports are in the coloured circles. Corresponding subthemes informed from adolescent and parent reports appear in the coloured rectangles. The specific parent theme appears in the diamond.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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