Adolescents who do not seek help from others, concealing their problems, make it difficult for teachers to detect students' mental health problems early and provide preventive interventions. Individual interviews of secondary-school teachers (n = 15; 8 men and 7 women) were conducted for this study, where they were asked to report their…

Direct support professionals (DSPs) provide integral support to many individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Yet, individuals' access to qualified DSPs is often compromised as organizations struggle to hire and retain DSPs. Despite a vast body of research exploring factors associated with turnover, adverse childhood…

Data from 368 families of children with autism and other developmental disabilities in the People's Republic of China were gathered to understand the stresses that families experience and the coping strategies they employ. Chinese families of children with developmental disabilities perceived high levels of stress related to pessimism, child…

This study examined stress-support in 42 families of 3- to 18-year-old children with Prader-Willi Syndrome. While children's age, intelligence quotient, and degree of obesity were not related to familial stress, families experienced greater stress when children showed more behavior problems overall, more externalizing and internalizing problems,…

Interviews with 24 families of deinstitutionalized developmentally disabled children revealed that 83 percent expressed high-level need for care and 67 percent were coping at a low level. Inner-city families most often expressed high-intensity needs and decreased coping ability, as did families of patients of younger age groups. (CL)

During a family counseling session parents of a developmentally disabled teenager and their young adult son discuss the angry reactions of the young adult son during an estate planning session. (DB)

Comparison of 154 families who placed developmentally disabled family members in residential programs and 377 families who cared for family members at home suggested increased incidence of family problems as well as more severe impairment among families who placed the developmentally disabled. (Author/DB)

The article reviews literature pertaining to general effects of a developmentally disabled child on a family with particular emphasis on implications for families with learning disabled children. Covered are aspects of individual and family life cycles during various life stages, sibling adjustment, and intervention approaches with the child and…

Pacific Asian families with developmentally disabled children have been subjected to many negative experiences in America which service providers as well as the general public often fail to consider. Events deriving from overtly hostile government policies (such as internment of Japanese Americans at the outbreak of World War II) and from…

The report discusses financing respite care (short term care of the handicapped to provide family relief) services for the developmentally disabled (DD). Respite care is examined as a component of a comprehensive service delivery system for the DD, and the scope of respite care services as conceptualized by its advocates is reviewed. Nationally…

Reviews evidence on biological etiology of autism and other pervasive developmental deviations, stressing necessity for providing early and accurate diagnosis for family. Discusses implications of downplaying individual pathology and concentrating on parental or family dysfunction. Presents components of psychoeducational model for diagnosis and…

A respite care needs assessment survey was completed by 574 Iowa families of children with developmental disabilities. Results documented a void in the availability and accessibility of respite services regardless of demography, income level, or extent of disability. Respondents generally perceived that the availability of respite care service…

Records (1972-1982) showing documentation of abuse or neglect in 95 developmentally disabled children were examined. Information was gathered on the children's functioning level, family income, involvement of communiy services, sibling abuse, and family's general lifestyle. Results indicated that in almost every case, the families experienced…

Questionnaires on the experiences of families of developmentally disabled children were completed by 330 families. Data are reported on parent and child characteristics, utilization of services, attitudes toward special education, perceptions of social distance, and perceptions of unmet service needs. Among results discussed is that use of…

Describes interdisciplinary college course designed to prepare students in psychology and related fields to work with children and families with special needs. Presents techniques for enhancing knowledge about developmental disabilities and chronic illness in childhood, including scope of the problem and legal rights, increasing sensitivity to…