Challenging behavior can create significant obstacles to academic and social progress for individuals in a school setting, particularly those with developmental disabilities. Functional assessments such as rating scales, ABC analyses, and functional analyses, are evidenced to be the most effective methods for identifying the maintaining variables…

Autism is a developmental disability characterized by severe, pervasive deficits in social interaction, communication and range of interests and activities. The neurobiologic basis of autism is well accepted, although the specific etiology is unknown. It has been theorized that autism may result from a combination of predisposing genes and…

We assessed the effects of reinforcement and no reinforcement for compliance to high-probability (high-p) instructions on compliance to low-probability (low-p) instructions using a reversal design. For both participants, compliance with the low-p instruction increased only when compliance with high-p instructions was followed by reinforcement.…

Hand mouthing is highly prevalent in individuals with severe to profound developmental disabilities. Frequent hand mouthing may interfere with appropriate responding, have negative health impacts, and result in restrictive interventions, such as the application of arm splints, to prevent this challenging behavior. The continuous application of arm…

This study investigated sleep of children with autism and developmental regression and the possible relationship with epilepsy and epileptiform abnormalities. Participants were 104 children with autism (70 non-regressed, 34 regressed) and 162 typically developing children (TD). Results suggested that the regressed group had higher incidence of…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of visual strategies with preschool children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their peers during play group sessions. A changing-criterion design was implemented with three preschool-aged children with ASD while they participated in play groups with four typically-developing peers.…

Sensory processing (SP) difficulties have been reported in as many as 95% of children with autism, however, empirical research examining the existence of specific patterns of SP difficulties within this population is scarce. Furthermore, little attention has been given to examining the relationship between SP and either the core symptoms or…

Bone development, casein-free diet use, supplements, and medications were assessed for 75 boys with autism or autism spectrum disorder, ages 4-8 years. Second metacarpal bone cortical thickness (BCT), measured on hand-wrist radiographs, and % deviations in BCT from reference medians were derived. BCT increased with age, but % deviations evidenced…

Almost all schools offer some sort of theater program, and many towns produce community plays. These events can be wonderful opportunities for children with special needs to gain a sense of belonging, develop social skills, and use their creative imaginations. But often individuals with special needs don't become involved. Why? Perhaps the task…

The effects of stimulus availability on preference were evaluated using two conditions of a modified preference assessment. Different preference hierarchies were found in 15-s access conditions than in 15-min access conditions. Subsequent comparisons of a short-availability high-preference stimulus and a long-availability high-preference stimulus…

Special education outcomes were evaluated for 3,608 children (2,513 males) with a preschool history of developmental disability. Sixty-six percent of the children had an identified disability in fourth grade. The percentage of children with a disability at outcome varied across preschool disability categories from 54% to 96%. The consistency of…

This study describes the validity and the sensitivity and specificity of depression screening tools among adults with intellectual and disabilities (ID). Subjects (N = 75) were interviewed with the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) and the Glasgow Depression Scale for People with a Learning Disability (GDS-LD) and also completed a clinical…

Equality of access to mainstream education environments for all, and more specifically for children with disabilities, is the documented policy of the United Nations, European Union and the Irish Nation State. Transition from historical segregation practices requires States' commitment to the provision of relevant resources. This paper argues that…

This study explored aging and health experiences and concerns of women with intellectual and developmental disabilities, using a participatory approach that captured the direct reports of the women, in their own words and from their own perspectives. The results of a qualitative analysis of 6 focus groups, composed of 34 women with intellectual…

The aim of this article is to inform the diagnostic knowledge base for professionals working in the field of language disorders when classic symptoms, characteristics and sequences are not found. The information reveals the risk of diagnosis with a developmental language disorder (DLD) by default when no underlying cause can be readily identified.…