There is preliminary research suggesting that animal-assisted activities can improve social interactions of children with autism spectrum disorder. This pilot study sought to investigate the benefits of animal-assisted activities with dogs and psychiatrically hospitalized youth with autism spectrum disorder. Participants were recruited from a…

Introduction: This study presents demographic and clinical profiles of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities seen at a psychiatric emergency department (ED). Predictors of admission were also identified. Methods: A retrospective chart review conducted from Oct 2016 to Jan 2017. Results: A total of 73 patients representing 105…

This article explores "the politics of sentimentality" with specific reference to the documentary film "Sick," which represents the narrative of a young lesbian woman, Ana, who was confined in a psychiatric hospital in Croatia and "treated" for her homosexuality. We consider the ways our most intimate emotional…

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, a number of Italian psychiatrists were convinced that medicine and education should work together to treat children with mental disabilities, then commonly defined as "feeble-minded". To this end they promoted the establishment of "Medico-Pedagogical Institutes", institutes,…

Youth returning to schools following psychiatric hospitalization are at high risk for mental health crises and rehospitalization. Yet, little is known about the current practices schools use to support student reintegration. This study administered a self-report questionnaire to 133 school psychologists across the nation to identify the prevalence…

Psychiatric hospitalization of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is common, but there is little comparative information available on different psychiatric hospital treatment models. Children with ASD ages 4-20 were enrolled upon admission to either a specialized (N = 53) or a general child psychiatric unit (N = 27). Caregivers completed…

Autistic adults who have a history of committing crimes present a major problem for providers of services in terms of legal disposal options and possible interventions, and greater understanding of this group and their associated needs is required. For this reason, we aimed to investigate the face validity of a proposed sub-typology of autistic…

Background: A cohort of 11 patients with an intellectual disability and a psychiatric diagnosis present severe behavioural disorders in psychiatric hospital of Quebec in 2009. Control-measure use for this clientele has now been reduced. How do management personnel, families and care teams explain the changes? What clinical interventions did…

The recovery-oriented approach to psychiatric care encourages decision making between patients and providers. However, one barrier to patients' involvement in their own treatment planning is the lack of meaningful communication with providers. Healthy Mind Messages, a collaborative art installation created by patients and staff at the Oregon State…

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to show power mechanisms of in- and exclusion in moments where certain participants appeared to be othered in two collaborative research and development projects in a healthcare setting. Design/methodology/approach: The paper contributes to critical-reflexive analyses of reflexive processes within collaborative…

Youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are psychiatrically hospitalized at high rates. Though specialized psychiatric units are effective, few specialized units exist. The ASD Care Pathway (ASD-CP) was developed as a scalable approach to improving care in general psychiatric units through staff training and a package of autism-specific…

Data from the Autism Inpatient Collection was used to examine the relationship between problem behaviors and verbal ability, which have generally, though not universally, been highly associated. In a comparison of 169 minimally-verbal and 177 fluently-verbal 4 to 20-year-old psychiatric inpatients with ASD, the severity of self-injurious behavior,…

We examined the relationship between sleep duration and awakenings to Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community (ABC-C) and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2) scores in hospitalized youth with ASD and behavioral disturbance. Participants included 106 patients with a stay of at least 10 nights. Sleep in the hospital was recorded by staff…

Emotional reactivity (e.g. explosive outbursts, tantrums) is a common but understudied challenge for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Prior research has relied primarily on questionnaire data or observations of very young children. The current study coded emotional reactivity and recovery during a series of standardized frustration tasks…

This article discusses a long-term theatre project that I run with mental health care users and staff in a forensic psychiatric hospital in South Africa. I argue that the values underpinning the project align with those of Mad Studies, a field that is located as an emerging academic discipline within disability studies. The article seeks to…