Positive Behaviour Support is an applied behaviour analytic system of support that is utilised in schools and in residential care settings for children and adults with disabilities who engage in challenging behaviour. Implementation fidelity depends on appropriate staff training and organisational behaviour management. A systematic literature…

Sensory processing abnormalities are relatively universal in individuals with autism spectrum disorder, and can be very disabling. Surprisingly, very few studies have investigated these abnormalities in low-functioning adults with autism. The goals of the present study were (a) to characterize distinct profiles of sensory dysfunction, and (b) to…

The present study addresses critical gaps in the literature by examining residential transitions among 303 adults with intellectual disability (ID) over 10 years (Part 1) and 75 adults with Down syndrome over 20 years (Part 2). All adults lived at home at the start of the study, but many moved to a variety of settings. Several characteristics of…

Background: There is little evidence to guide the commissioning of residential provision for adults with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) in the UK. We aim to explore the degree and impact of diagnostic congregation among adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) and ASD living in staffed housing. Methods: One hundred and fifty-seven adults with…

Background: The Taiwanese government launched a new programme in November 2004 to support adults with intellectual disabilities living in smaller facilities. This paper aims to evaluate the service outcomes of this new residential scheme over 2 years including those residents who moved from an institution and those who moved from their family.…

Background: Adults with severe challenging behaviour can achieve good "quality of life" outcomes in small supported accommodation services. Yet, the research indicates that they typically experience poorer outcomes than other adults with intellectual disability. This raises questions about the degree to which research has informed…

Background: Owing to methodological issues, little research has been conducted to examine quality of life (QoL) as a treatment outcome in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and intellectual disabilities (ID). This study was conducted to combine QoL measures and objective observations of challenging behaviours (CB) in order to evaluate changes over…

Purpose of the study: Caregiver burden is a multidimensional construct, addressing tension and anxiety (stress burden), changes in dyadic relationships (relationship burden), and time infringements (objective burden) resulting from caregiving. The study aims were to assess (a) whether the dimensions of burden were the same for caregiving spouses…

Previous research has failed to address the possibility of behavioral equivalents in people with ID and mania. The relationship between a measure of mania and possible behavioral equivalents was assessed in 693 adults, most with severe or profound ID, living in a large residential setting. The mania subscale of the DASH-II proved to be a…

Previous research has proposed behavioral equivalents for depression, but evidence for behavioral equivalents has been contradictory. The relationship between a measure of depression and several proposed behavioral equivalents of depression was assessed in 693 adults living in a large residential setting. Most were adults with severe or profound…

During the past twenty years, an important body of research has examined the different impacts of deinstitutionalisation on the adaptation and quality of life of persons with intellectual disabilities. This empirical study was conducted with 136 persons with intellectual disabilities following the closure of the Hopital Saint-Julien (Quebec,…

Raising an adolescent or adult child with a developmental disability confers exceptional care giving challenges on parents. We examined trajectories of 2 indicators of emotional well-being (depressive symptoms and anxiety) in a sample of primarily Caucasian mothers (N = 379; M[subscript age] = 51.22 years at Time 1) of adolescent and adult…

Behavior problems such as aggression, property destruction, stereotypy, self-injurious behavior, and other disruptive behavior are commonly observed among adults with intellectual disabilities (ID), autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and epilepsy residing at state-run facilities. However, it is unknown how these populations differ on behavior…

Background: Individuals with intellectual disabilities are more likely to experience a breakdown in their community residential placement if they display "challenging" behaviour. However, some individuals with behaviour that poses a severe challenge live successfully in community services long-term, indicating that other factors are also…

The authors analyzed delinquent development from age 12 to 32 in 270 male offenders who underwent residential treatment for problematic behavior and delinquency in a Dutch juvenile justice institution. Stable personality and background characteristics were measured on admission. The development of offending was examined on the basis of conviction…