We describe a computer-assisted program for conducting well-body assessments of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities attending a private special education school. Classroom instructors completed daily assessments to detect the presence of bodily injuries and other skin trauma, determine the need for medical treatment, and monitor healing…

Universal screening and progress monitoring are evidence-based practices in early intervention/early childhood special education (EI/ECSE). Individual Growth and Development Indicators (IGDIs) for infants/toddlers are measures that programs can use for universal screening, progress monitoring, intervention decision-making, and accountability.…

Children born preterm are at risk for developmental deficits across multiple functional domains. As the rate of survival for preterm infants increases due to medical advancements, a greater understanding is needed for how to meet the needs of this growing population in schools. Because approximately 50-70% of children born preterm require…

Although statistics such as kappa and phi are commonly used to assess agreement between tests, in situations where the base rate of a disorder in a population is low or high, these statistics tend to underestimate actual agreement. This can occur even if the tests are good and the classification of subjects is adequate. Relative improvement over…

Research has demonstrated that people with significant intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities can indicate clear preferences through methodologically rigorous assessments. Once preferred items have been identified, they can be used to reinforce new behaviors, which can assist in the development of a meaningful learning experience.…

The national Quality Improvement Center on early Childhood (QIC-eC) funded four research and demonstration projects that tested child maltreatment prevention approaches. The projects were guided by several key perspectives: the importance of increasing protective factors in addition to decreasing risk factors in child maltreatment prevention…

This article features two exemplary programs in health education practice: (1) Project L.E.A.P (Learning Effective and Applicable Parenting); and (2) A program that uses a pedestrian count tool to measure environmental and health promotion efforts. Project L.E.A.P. was developed by the Atlanta Alliance on Developmental Disabilities to promote…

Evaluators are often faced with many challenges in the design and implementation of a program's evaluation. Because programs are entangled in complex networks of structures and stakeholders, they can be challenging to understand, and they often pose issues of competing and conflicting goals. However, by using a systems mapping approach to…

Challenging behavior can create significant obstacles to academic and social progress for individuals in a school setting, particularly those with developmental disabilities. Functional assessments such as rating scales, ABC analyses, and functional analyses, are evidenced to be the most effective methods for identifying the maintaining variables…

Effective, efficient, and sustainable ID/DD organizations: are they possible in today's world of dwindling resources and mounting demands for more and better services? Yes--with the practical tools and strategies in this lifeline for ID/DD leaders. Developed by two of the most trusted authorities in the disability field, this innovative business…

There is growing interest in the role that physical illness and pain might play in exacerbating problem behavior in individuals with developmental disabilities. Assessment of these factors, however, is often difficult since many individuals have minimal verbal communication skills. In response to this difficulty, we developed a sequential method…

The purposes of this article are (a) to describe a structured protocol for assessing request, reject, and repair behavior of young children with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities and (b) to highlight the importance of assessing these communicative behaviors. These three communicative functions are basic building blocks…

Like other developmental disorders such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, specific language impairment and dyslexia, there is no shortage of debate surrounding the condition of Developmental Coordination Disorder. The present article takes a global view of many of these debatable issues, starting with definition and terminology, moving…

In this article we outline components of the Competent Learner Model (CLM). Based on principles of applied behavior analysis, the model provides empirically based assessment, instruction, and evaluation for students with developmental disabilities, including autism.

When developmental concerns arise in children, a clinical assessment focuses on the child's developmental profile to achieve three goals (1) determine diagnosis, (2) develop interventions, and (3) evaluate progress. Parents often have needs during this time that are not addressed by professionals because of the exclusive focus on the child during…