The aim of this study was to develop a transcultural adaptation of the Diagnostic Adaptive Behavior Scale (DABS) in French and to perform a field evaluation of the adapted version of the tool (DABS-F). Eight experts in intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and two professional translators formed two committees to translate the…

The Delis Rating of Executive Function (D-REF) is a set of rating scales designed to assess executive functions and their constituent sub-processes in children and adolescents between the ages of 5 and 18. More specifically, the D-REF is a supplemental assessment of children and adolescents demonstrating behavioral or cognitive difficulties often…

Recent insight into the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms of fragile X syndrome (FXS) has led to the proposal and development of new pharmaceutical treatment strategies, and the initiation of clinical trials aimed at correcting core symptoms of the developmental disorder. Consequently, there is an urgent and critical need for outcome…

The aim of this study was to adapt and evaluate the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ) for use in Chinese-speaking countries. A total of 1082 parents completed the DCDQ and 35 parents repeated it after 2 weeks for test-retest reliability. Two items were deleted after examination of test consistency. Cronbach's [alpha] for the…

Although often lacking "malice", aggression is fairly common in children with intellectual or developmental disability (I/DD). Despite this, there are no scales available that are appropriate for an in-depth analysis of aggressive behavior in this population. Such scales are needed for the study of aggressive behavior, which is a common target…

Evaluating pain in adults with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) is a challenge. The Non-Communicating Adults Pain Checklist (NCAPC) was recently developed from the Non-Communicating Children's Pain Checklist (NCCPC) and examined in a group of adults with IDD (N = 228) and found to hold satisfactory construct validity, internal…

The purpose of this study was to develop and to evaluate the Preferences for Leisure Attributes (PLA) Assessment, a forced-choice computer software program for students with severe disabilities and communication difficulties. In order to determine content validity of the PLA Assessment, four experts in related fields assigned critical attributes…

This paper reviews the psychometric properties, treatment utility, and conceptual basis of instruments used to identify the functions of aberrant behaviors in people with developmental disabilities. Instruments include the Motivational Assessment Scale, Motivation Analysis Rating Scale, Functional Analysis Interview Form, and Functional Analysis…

Reliability and validity data are reported for the Motivation Assessment Scale, a 16-item questionnaire designed to identify variables maintaining self-injurious behavior in persons with autism and other developmental disorders. Results indicated that interrater reliability and test-retest reliability among teachers was good and that ratings…

Systematic assessment of anger among people with developmental disabilities has been lacking, especially for hospital inpatients. Reliability and validity of anger self-report psychometric scales were investigated with 129 male patients, mostly forensic. Anger prevalence and its relationship to demographic, cognitive, and personality variables and…

The use of anti-epileptic medications (AEDs) is much higher in individuals with intellectual disabilities than in the general population. As many of these individuals rely on such medications, clinicians should consider psychometrically sound instruments for assessing adverse side effects of these medications as one aspect of routine clinical…

This study established content validity and reliability for the Infant Behavioral Summarized Evaluation, a rating scale for young children with autism. Analysis of videotapes for 89 children (ages 6-48 months) revealed a significant group of 19 items, including characteristic early autistic behaviors and some less commonly described (such as…

This study evaluated the Consent Screening Interview, which assesses the ability of adults with developmental disabilities to give direct consent for community residential placement. Interviews conducted with 17 adults with mental retardation and a control group of 8 individuals indicated that the instrument differentiated between those subjects…

The Child Development Rating Scales (CDRS) is a parent-administered adaptive behavior assessment instrument for use with children whose developmental age is birth through 5 years and whose chronological age is birth through 8 years. The scale was developed in order to conduct research on parents' abilities to assess a wide range of skills in their…