Mumbai is home to over 22 million people, of which 41.3% are estimated to live in bastis with limited access to basic facilities and support. The number of people with disabilities living in Mumbai was 0.48 million in 2011, expected to rise to 4 million by 2025. For people with disabilities to live a better quality of life, they require a…

Evidence suggests that integrated support, combining both natural and formal supports, is often essential for individuals with developmental disabilities to achieve their preferred quality of life. However, studies are limited on how to organize supports so that people with developmental disabilities and their families find a balance between…

Background: The Needs Assessment Framework (NAF) stimulates awareness of care staff to consider perspectives of clients with intellectual disabilities in decisions on involuntary care. We explored the effect of implementers' participation in a Virtual Community-of-Practice (VCoP) for designing implementation plans, on NAF implementation and staff…

As the demands on public school leaders continue to increase, their need for support increases. Mentoring is one way school leaders may experience that support. In this paper, we examine the support school leaders state they need and the extent to which mentorship may be addressing those needs. We draw on survey results matched to school and…

This paper describes and reflects upon the first author's journey from teacher to researcher, working with deafblind children and young people, and the research teams' development of person-centred research methods. Historically deafblind people, particularly children and young people, have rarely been included in participation action research, in…

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the everyday ways that individuals with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities exercise choice and control. Method: Photovoice with 17 adults with mild to moderate intellectual disability who were receiving individual funding was conducted. Focus groups were held to review the photos. Findings: While…

Rehabilitative and habilitative therapies can help children with disabilities increase independence and overall wellbeing. However, children and their caregivers face many barriers to accessing these therapies and often rely on the school for therapy access. Given the limited resources available within the special education system, increasing…

In 1951, when Maria Montessori described the pattern of human development as the Constructive Rhythm of Life, marking each of four chapters or planes of development with an inverted triangle, she colored the first and third planes red to represent their intensity (Grazzini, 1996). These two red triangles are referred to as creative periods and…

Background: Many parents are the primary caregivers for their adult children with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. While there can be many benefits of caregiving, there can also be negative consequences for the parent caregiver and, in turn, for their adult child with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. Given the…

Part C early intervention (EI) starts no earlier than birth, even with a prenatal diagnosis resulting in automatic eligibility. Despite other early U.S. home visiting programs beginning prenatally and the increasing likelihood of uncovering certain diagnoses prenatally, pregnant families cannot access EI. This study sought to understand families'…

The adult service system does not adequately meet the needs of autistic adults, prompting families to continue their supportive roles. Siblings frequently assume these roles when parents are no longer able to do so, often without preparation or planning. We received feedback on the proposed Siblings FORWARD (Focusing on Relationships, Well-being,…

Background: Sexual well-being significantly impacts the overall quality of life for individuals with and without intellectual disabilities. Notably, parents play a pivotal role in influencing their children's sexual development, and their attitudes towards this topic are shaped by Chinese sociocultural values. Methods: This study employed…

With many teens having to transition from a mainly educational system of support to a set of health and social service systems (Shattuck et al. in Autism Res Treat https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/924182, 2017), there is a critical need to advance research and support services in the area of autism and transition to aid autistic* individuals and their…

There has been limited research on families of autistic children in Ecuador, especially in relation to their experiences of accessing a diagnosis and associated support. In this study, we surveyed 767 families about their diagnostic and post-diagnostic journeys. Of these, 651 families had children who had received a formal autism diagnosis. In…

Objective: This study examined how individual (satisfaction of basic psychological needs), relational (perceived achievement- and dependency-oriented parental psychological control), and cultural (ethnic identity) factors may contribute to Asian American college students' (18-25 years of age) disordered eating. Participants: Asian American college…