As the United States' first disability-specific leadership academy in state government, the Leadership Academy for Excellence in Disability Services is a year-long competency-based training experience designed for employees who manage programs that impact the lives of Tennesseans with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.…

Adults with disabilities have long been at the forefront of disability advocacy in the United States. Grounded in the tenets of radical disability studies and principles of disability justice, this study explored the lived experiences of 12 adults with disabilities, including intellectual disability and developmental disabilities, with a…

Participatory Action Research (PAR) brings unique ethical challenges. Scholars have developed seven ethical principles to address these challenges. So far, little has been published on how these ethical principles (are put to) work in different fields. We used the principles to evaluate our collaboration with co-researchers with developmental…

Although special education advocates have played an essential role in obtaining rights for individuals with disabilities, there is still much unknown about their motivations, challenges, roles, and the meaning they made from their experiences. Research into Saudi parent advocates of children with disabilities and their complex daily life issues…

Scant research exists regarding how family cohesion is related to relationships among siblings with and without disabilities. The purpose of this study, based upon the Double ABCX Model of Adaptation, was to investigate cohesion and sibling relationships in families raising typically developing siblings (TDC) and families raising children with…

Young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) accomplish outcomes in the areas of employment, continued education, and independent living at rates much lower than their peers without disabilities (Newman et al., 2011). Limited reliable and independent transportation is one barrier youth with IDD face in accessing these…

Restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRB) are observed in young children with intellectual and developmental delays or disabilities (DD) including autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Self-injurious behavior is often considered an extreme form of RRB, but the nature of the relation between SIB and other forms of RRBs is not completely understood.…

Interdisciplinary dialogue can help progress and improve professional fields. Progress and improvement may be impeded by barriers within an interdisciplinary dialogue, two of which are false dichotomies and faulty generalizations. It is our opinion that this particular interdisciplinary dialogue will advance productively by avoiding: false…

Youth with disabilities are overall less engaged in extracurricular, community, and social activities than their peers without disabilities. Specifically, youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD; e.g., autism, intellectual disability) are less likely to participate in extracurricular or social activities compared to peers with…

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) was introduced in Australia in 2013 to address the inadequacies of a fragmented and underfunded service system for people with disabilities. For young children with developmental disabilities, NDIS services fall under the early childhood early intervention (ECEI) approach, the impact of which is yet…

Parent involvement and parent-professional collaboration influence positive transitions from school into adult life among young adults with disabilities. However, parents frequently report being uninformed and uninvolved in transition planning and there is a paucity of information on how to develop these relationships in high school and…

Related services were examined for 1,400 racial/ethnic transitioning minorities enrolled in the National Longitudinal Transition Study--2 database after adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic variables. Propensity methods balanced minorities (32%) and nonminorities (68%) on demographic and socioeconomic factors. Logistic regressions…

This manual was designed primarily for use by people with disabilities. The hope is that it is also useful for families, as well as service coordinators and providers who directly assist families and individuals with disabilities. The focus of this manual is to provide easy-to-read information about available resources, and to provide immediate…

From an educational perspective, self-determination is the way that individuals act according to their own decisions. It is characterized by knowing where and when a person should do a certain action without intervention from others. To be self-determined, it is necessary to develop self-regulation skills. Therefore, teaching the…

At the national level, integrated employment has become an important policy priority. Greater expectations are being placed on those charged with delivering employment supports, and disability systems are responding. However, the promise of integrated employment has yet to be realized for individuals with intellectual and developmental…