Introduction: Challenging behaviors are common in individuals with developmental disabilities and pose significant challenges to their well-being and that of their families and communities. Method: We explored the occurrence and predictors of self-injurious behavior and aggressive/destructive behavior in 372 Canadian youths (aged 4-20 years) with…

In this article, we provide a case example of how telehealth can be used by care providers in their homes to access empirically validated procedures such as functional communication training. As shown in the case example, complex assessment and intervention procedures were implemented successfully by care providers in their homes while receiving…

Introduction: It is believed that children with mild to borderline intellectual functioning are not successful in processing the information received from peers and other people in their surroundings during social interactions, which leads to challenging and aggressive behavior. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of social…

Background: The issues surrounding the prescribing and monitoring of medications for people with learning disabilities and behaviours deemed to be challenging, and are complex in their management for patients, healthcare professionals and carers. The aim of the study was to explore the impact of the pharmacist independent prescriber on a…

Background: Psychotropic medication is widely prescribed to treat mental illness. However, it is controversial when used as a chemical restraint (CR) to manage challenging behaviours (CBs) of adults with intellectual disability (ID). CR has potentially negative consequences and affects human rights. Method: Qualitative research conducted between…

A high proportion of adults with intellectual disability (ID) who live in supported accommodation (i.e. group homes) engage in challenging behaviours (CB). A lack of engagement in meaningful activity, social isolation, communication difficulties, and boredom can be triggers for challenging behaviour. There is a small body of literature on…

Background: As individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) grow older, siblings are likely to become caregivers for their brothers and sisters with IDD. Thus, it is important to identify the correlates of sibling caregiving to facilitate transitions to caregiving roles. Method: This study involved the secondary analysis of a…

Background: Epilepsy and challenging behaviour are both highly prevalent in the intellectual disability (ID) population and it is thus crucial to understand any possible associations between the two. Method: PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL and Web of Science were searched for quantitative data about epilepsy and any forms of challenging…

This study evaluates the implementation of Safewards on an assessment and treatment unit (ATU) for people with an intellectual disability. There are no previous studies evaluating this model in this context and previous research has focused largely on acute mental health services. The 'Patient-Staff Conflict Shift Report' was used at baseline for…

Restricted repetitive behaviors (RRBs) are a core feature of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and further occur in intellectual disability (ID), mental disorders (MD), and in typically developed people (TD). There is a need of a valid and reliable measure to record RRBs as transdiagnostic symptom, which captures RRBs heterogeneity and evaluates…

Background: It is unknown why professionals' adherence to guideline recommendations on antipsychotic drug prescription in the intellectual disabilities care is insufficient. This study aimed to explore barriers and facilitators in the implementation and use of these recommendations. Methods: In-depth interviews with four intellectual disability…

Secondary public education for students with severe disabilities offers some of the last opportunities for improved social/behavioral skills, activities of daily living, and cognitive/academic instruction. The problem is that thorough descriptions of self-contained classroom ecology and teachers' use of evidence-based strategies are limited.…

Introduction: Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) and IDD have lower psychiatric disorders rates than other individuals with IDD, and more information is needed about possible unique mental health needs of this group. Method: De-identified intake data for individuals with IDD, 101 with DS (mean age 27) and 4,366 without DS (mean age 25) served in…

Discovery awareness (DA) is an approach to using video within structured meetings to help staff become more mindful, aware and interested in a client they are supporting who has intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour. The objective was to evaluate whether, and how, DA is helpful for staff in both inpatient and community settings, and…

Background: The aim was to investigate the aggressive behavior of young people in specialized institutions with intellectual disability (ID) with or without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Method: Data on 305 institutionalized young people were collected using two aggression scales, the 'Children's Scale of Hostility and Aggression:…