The purpose of the current study was to critically examine the existing literature on the treatment of pica displayed by individuals with intellectual disabilities. Criteria for empirically supported treatments as described by Divisions 12 and 16 of APA, and adapted for studies employing single-case designs were used to review this body of…

The least-restrictive-alternative guideline for providing treatment emphasizes the use of non-aversive procedures to reduce maladaptive behaviors in individuals with intellectual disability (ID). Differential reinforcement (DR) is an excellent example of such a non-aversive, reinforcement based behavioral intervention. The purpose of this…

Sleep disturbance is a common problem in children with developmental disabilities. Effective pharmacologic interventions are needed to ameliorate sleep problems that persist when behavior therapy alone is insufficient. The aim of the present study was to provide an overview of the quantity and quality of pharmacologic research targeting sleep in…

The use of medications to manage problem behaviours is widespread. However, robust evidence to support their use seems to be lacking. The aim was to review research evidence into the efficacy of atypical antipsychotic medication in managing problem behaviour in children with intellectual disabilities and borderline intelligence. A systematic…

This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the treatment effects of a behavioral family intervention, Stepping Stones Triple P (SSTP) for parents of children with disabilities. SSTP is a system of five intervention levels of increasing intensity and narrowing population reach. Twelve studies, including a total of 659 families, met…

Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) is one of the most common behavior analytic interventions used to decrease unwanted behavior. We reviewed the DRA literature from the past 30 years to identify the aspects that are thoroughly researched and those that would benefit from further emphasis. We found and coded 116 empirical…

One-hundred seventy-three studies that employed functional assessment were evaluated with respect to types of challenging behaviors studied and the functions identified that maintained those behaviors. For most studies, two to three behaviors were targeted. Of the 38 different challenging behaviors identified, self-injurious behavior (SIB) and…

We conducted a systematic analysis of studies that involved the treatment of rumination and operant vomiting in individuals with developmental disabilities. A total of 21 studies involving a combined 32 participants were identified and analyzed in terms of (a) participant characteristics, (b) dependent variables, (c) intervention procedures, (d)…

This paper provides an overview of behavioral strategies used for reducing hand-related stereotypies (i.e., hand/finger mouthing, eye poking, self-slapping, and other hand-to-head/body responses) of persons with severe to profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. Computerized and manual searches were conducted to identify the studies…

Aggression can present as a significant problem behavior in individuals with a diagnosis of developmental disability. Much research has focused on the prevalence of aggression in individuals with varying degrees of severity of intellectual disability (AD), autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and co-morbidity of ID and ASD. Research has also focused on…

Great strides have been made in the development of skills and procedures to aid children with developmental disabilities to establish maximum independence and quality of life. Paramount among the treatment methods that have empirical support are treatments based on applied behavior analysis. These methods are often very labor intensive. Thus,…

In this paper, we review definitional issues related to stereotypy, behavioral interpretations of stereotypy, procedures for determining operant function(s) of stereotypy, and behavioral interventions for stereotypy. In general, a preponderance of the assessment literature suggests that most forms of stereotypy are maintained by automatic…

Stereotypy is a relatively common behavioral disorder displayed by individuals with developmental disabilities, including autism. In this paper, we review selected studies on neurobiological interpretations of stereotypy and pharmacological interventions for stereotypy. Specifically, we review studies that evaluated the effects of serotonin uptake…