Functional analysis has been shown to effectively identify the function of challenging behavior and inform the design of function-based treatment that emphasizes reinforcement-based procedures. However, there is minimal research on culturally responsive approaches to functional analysis with bilingual clients with a developmental disability who…

Automated methods for processing of daylong audio recordings are efficient and may be an effective way of assessing developmental stage for typically developing children; however, their utility for children with developmental disabilities may be limited by constraints of algorithms and the scope of variables produced. Here, we present a novel…

Background: In 2016/17, the CATALISE Consortium published the results of a multinational and multidisciplinary Delphi consensus study, representing agreement among professionals about the definition and process of identification of children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) (Bishop et al., 2016, 2017). The extent to which the current…

Effective training programs for individuals with disabilities often involve the use of positive reinforcement. Social interactions have many benefits over other forms of reinforcement, but more research is needed to determine how to identify social interactions that serve as reinforcers. In the first experiment, we evaluated the use of two…

Motor abnormalities are highly prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorder and are strongly predictive of adaptive functioning. Despite the documented sex bias in the prevalence of the disorder, the impact of sex differences on motor abnormalities has been overlooked. The goal of this study was to investigate differences in the motor…

Purpose: This study investigated the effect of delivery method (face-to-face or telepractice), time, home language, and language ability on bilingual children's receptive vocabulary scores in Spanish and English. Method: Participants included bilingual children with (n = 32) and without (n = 57) developmental language disorders (DLD) that were…

This study utilized a mixed methods design to analyze responses from a nationally distributed survey of professionals' (N = 1,000) experiences conducting initial evaluations for early intervention and preschool special education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most personnel reported pausing their initial evaluations at some point during the…

Early studies evaluating the relative preference for leisure compared with edible items suggested that, for most participants (>80%), edible items are more preferred than leisure items. Recent studies suggest more variability in the percentage of participants with this preference. The rationale for this variability could be sampling, setting,…

The purpose of the current two-experiment study was to examine the use of a preference assessment for dimensions of reinforcement to inform an effective token economy arrangement. Three participants diagnosed with developmental disabilities who engaged in negatively reinforced problem behavior participated in this study. During Experiment 1, a…

Repetitive sensory motor behaviors are a direct target for clinical treatment and a potential treatment endpoint for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. By removing the burden associated with video annotation or direct observation, automated detection of stereotypy would allow for longer term monitoring in ecologic…

Background: Pretend play is a form of play that involves nonliteral actions. There are limited studies reporting the developmental trends of pretend play behaviours of typically developing pre-schoolers. This knowledge would be beneficial in the early identification of deviations in pre-schoolers who have or are at risk of developing developmental…

There has been limited focus in the disability field on assessing and intervening to promote strengths of character. However, character strengths have received significant attention in the broader field of positive psychology. This paper provides an overview of the growing science of character strengths and explores why and how character strengths…

This study used the Camberwell Assessment of Need for adults with Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (CANDID) to examine the social, physical health and mental health needs of 168 young people (aged 14-24 years) with neurodevelopmental disorders and compared young person and parent ratings of need. Agreement was poor in 21 out of 25…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore how speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who are augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) specialists approach the assessment process for 2 case studies, 1 child with cerebral palsy and 1 with autism spectrum disorder. The aim of the study was to answer the following questions: (a) How do…

This phenomenological research study examined the perspectives of parents and caregivers of persons with low-incidence exceptionalities through the use of semi-structured interviews. The purpose of the study was to determine what, if any, barriers they face in providing the best life possible for their children. All of the adult children in…