The use of applied behavior analysis (ABA) to treat persons with autism goes back several decades. Many specific target behaviors and intervention strategies have been developed. In the last two decades the most heavily studied of these methods has been Early Intensive Behavioral Interventions (EIBI). This package of ABA methods is unique in two…

Work, self-help, leisure, and hygiene skill deficits are often associated with Autistic Disorder, a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by pervasive impairments in socialization, communication, and repetitive and restricted behaviors or interests. A number of interventions have been established to assist individuals with these impairments.…

The benefits of early intervention for very young children with autism are now well established. Hand and hand with these interventions is the necessity of psychometrically sound diagnostic tools. Not only should these tools be instrumental in differentiating developmentally delayed and other at risk infants. These measures should also be…

Developmental disabilities such as intellectual disability and autism are often accompanied by special sets of behaviors which are major challenges for the person and those in their community. Among the most worrisome of these are compulsions, rituals and obsessions. Often these behaviors are left untreated; however, when intervention does occur…

Autism has become one of the most heavily researched topics in the field of mental health and education. While genetics has been the most studied of all topics, applied behavior analysis (ABA) has also received a great deal of attention, and has arguably yielded the most promising results of any research area to date. The current paper provides a…

Previous research has found that individuals with intellectual disability and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and those with greater symptom severity within these diagnoses, show higher rates of aggressive/destructive behavior, stereotypic behavior, and self-injurious behavior. In this exploratory cross-sectional study, toddlers at-risk for a…

Children and adults with developmental disabilities are more likely to evince encopresis, soiling and constipation than the general population. This set of related behaviors can produce a great deal of stress and can be a major restriction in independent living. This paper provides a review of the current state of knowledge on the prevalence,…

Challenging behaviors in persons with intellectual disabilities are primary target for treatment in mental health clinics and institutions. Furthermore, an increasing number of people are receiving psychotropic medications for the management of their challenging behaviors. Many people are often treated with high doses of multiple psychotropic…

Background: Persons with intellectual disability often evince challenging behaviours. Efforts have been underway for some time to develop prosocial or positive skill acquisition treatments to address challenging behaviours. However, physical/mechanical and chemical restraint is still commonly used in many clinical and community settings. Such…

Challenging behaviors are common and persistent in persons with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Best practices dictate that symptoms of ASD and these co-occurring problems be identified and then treated at the earliest possible age. Having said this, there has been a dearth of available assessment methods to make sure identifications in infants…

The development of learning based interventions has proven to be an effective means of remediating symptoms of autism and PDD-NOS. The central focus of these effects in recent years has been on early intensive behavioral interventions (EIBI) with preschool children. We use the term EIBI since it is the most often used, and we assume, preferred…

The success of early intervention programs has in large part spurred increasing emphasis on identifying children with autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) at the earliest possible ages. National and international professional groups have called for early screening and diagnosis, yet the technology to…

Comorbid psychopathology and challenging behaviors often occur among persons with developmental disabilities. However, little attention to this issue has been reported in young children. In this study, individuals 17 through 36 months of age with varying diagnoses, such as intellectual disability, developmental delay, and Down syndrome, among…

Diagnosing autism and PDD-NOS at very early ages has become a major priority in the field of mental health. More recently, researchers have also come to realize the importance of identifying co-occurring conditions of psychopathology in this population. In the present study, 309 children between 17 and 37 months of age who had been identified as…

In a review of current treatment research on aggression of mentally retarded persons, age and level of mental retardation were significant factors in predicting treatment outcome. Some types of behaviors were treated more frequently than others, with inappropriate verbal responses being the most common, followed by aggression toward others and…