Introduction: Diagnosing dementia in people with severe/profound intellectual (and multiple) disabilities (SPI(M)D) is complex. Whereas existing dementia screening instruments as a whole are unsuitable for this population, a number of individual items may apply. Therefore, this study aimed to identify applicable items in existing dementia…

This article focuses on teachers' pedagogical decision-making and influences on this decision-making when teaching students with severe intellectual disabilities. The research reported and discussed forms part of an international collaborative research project in the south west of England and Florida, US. The study is set within the broader…

The Nonverbal Literacy Assessment (NVLA) is a literacy assessment designed for students with significant intellectual disabilities. The 218-item test was initially examined using confirmatory factor analysis. This method showed that the test worked as expected, but the items loaded onto a single factor. This article uses item response theory to…

The aim of this study was to develop a coding scheme that enables researchers and practitioners to conduct a detailed analysis of the communicative behavior of young children with significant cognitive and motor developmental delays. Currently, there is a paucity of methods to do conduct such an analysis. For the study, video observations of three…

This article is about the challenge of communication via smartphones and tablets by people with intellectual disabilities (ID). We will give special attention to persons that struggle with verbal communication. One of our co-researchers, the fourth author, has a severe ID. She cannot read, write or use voice assisted technology in any functional…

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of how students with disabilities, including students with significant cognitive disabilities and English learners with disabilities, can be included in local assessments used for instructional and programmatic decision making--that is, for formative purposes. This article focuses on formative…

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.…

"Dedifferentiation" represents the merging of the wider "intellectual disability" category with the broader one of "disability" generally; a product of the ascendance of the social model of disability. The recent re-emergence of the significance of impairment and embodiment in disability theory re-establishes the…

Background: Staff and relatives often act as advocates for people with severe to profound intellectual disability (ID). Since staff and relatives make proxy judgements about quality of life for people with severe to profound ID, it is important to know how well the perceptions of the two groups correspond with each other. Method: Fifty-one…

This article considers some aspects of the 'what, why and how' of individualising reflective assessments. It is an attempt to understand what works well in a special needs setting but it can also be applied within a mainstream context. The article comprises evidence, in the form of practitioner observations, during the author's work with eight…

Background: Planning the transition to adulthood of youth with severe to profound intellectual disability (ID) requires professionals from different institutions to work together. However, there are few studies in the literature that focus on professionals involved in this transition. Method: This study documented factors impacting the transition…

Background: Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (RSTS) is a multiple congenital anomaly syndrome characterised by several typical somatic characteristics and by developmental disabilities with various degrees of severity. Focusing on children with RSTS, the aim of this study was to describe their psychomotor, cognitive, and socio-emotional developmental…

Background: Quality of Life (QoL) may be a factor in physicians' decisions on treatment of persons with Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities (PIMD). We explored the perception of physicians on the QoL of persons with PIMD. Method: We conducted semi-structured interviews with seven experienced physicians treating persons with PIMD,…

Communication assessment of people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) has seldom been investigated. Here, we explore approaches and decision making in undertaking communication assessments in this group of people. A questionnaire was sent to UK practitioners. The questionnaire elicited information about assessment…

Background: This study analysed parents' positive and negative appraisals of the impact of raising children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) on family life. Method: Mothers (n = 52) and fathers (n = 27) of 56 children with PIMD completed a questionnaire focused on their positive and negative appraisals of the impact of…