Researchers suggest that people with an intellectual disability (ID) undertake less physical activity than the general population and many rely, to some extent, on others to help them to access activities. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) model was previously found to significantly predict the intention of care staff to facilitate a healthy…

This paper describes the development of a Quality of Care and Support (QOCS) scale for use with adult persons with physical and intellectual disabilities. In the pilot phase of the study, 12 centers from around the world carried out focus groups with people with physical and disabilities, their carers, and with professionals in order to identify…

Few studies have been found that to assess the factors that explain higher levels of family burden in adults with intellectual disability (ID) and intellectual disability and mental disorders (ID-MD). The aims of this study were to assess family burden in people with ID and ID-MD and to determine which sociodemographic, clinical and functional…

Family impact (or family burden) is a concept born in the field of mental health that has successfully been exported to the ambit of intellectual disability (ID). However, differences in family impact associated with severe mental health disorders (schizophrenia), to ID or to mental health problems in ID should be expected. Seventy-two adults with…

Pain coping is thought to be the most significant behavioural contribution to the adjustment to pain. Little is known about how those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) cope with pain. We describe parental reported coping styles and how coping relates to individual factors. Seventy-seven caregivers of children and adults with…

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Behavior Problems Inventory (BPI-01) in a community population. The Swedish version of the BPI-01 was administered by interviewing care staff of all adults (n = 915) with administratively defined intellectual disabilities (IDs) living in Orebro…

It is often difficult to determine the triad of impairments and whether autistic features are the consequence of intellectual impairment or autism spectrum disorders in people with intellectual disability (ID). The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between carer-reported autistic traits and independent diagnoses of…

This study examined the effects of a yearlong Mediational Intervention for Sensitizing Caregivers (MISC; Klein, 1992) on: (a) the quality of interactions between rehabilitation day center paraprofessional staff (n=10) and their adult consumers (n=19) with severe intellectual disability (ID) and (b) the consumers' cognition, autonomy, and…

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are in need of effective and motivating physical fitness training programs. The aim was to test the effectiveness of a virtual reality (VR)-based exercise program in improving the physical fitness of adults with severe IDD when implemented by on-site caregivers. A research group (N…

We reviewed studies involving the treatment of bruxism (i.e., teeth clenching or teeth grinding) in individuals with developmental disabilities. Systematic searches of electronic databases, journals, and reference lists identified 11 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. These studies were evaluated in terms of: (a) participants, (b) procedures…

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…

A number of researchers have explored the attributions that care staff make about challenging behavior. The expectation, based on behavioral and cognitive models, is that these attributions may help predict why staff inadvertently reinforce challenging behavior. Two studies of staff attributions about challenging behavior are reported. In the…

Happiness is a critical indicator of quality of life in humans. A few studies have measured levels of happiness displayed under different conditions by individuals with profound multiple disabilities. We were interested in determining whether increasing the mindfulness of caregivers would result in increased levels of happiness in adults with…