While deficits in social interaction are central to autism, the sibling relationship has been found to provide a key medium for the development of such skills. Naturalistic observations of sibling pairs including children with autism and controls with Down syndrome were made across two time periods, twelve months apart. Consistent with the…

"On Campus" is an inclusive education initiative for persons with developmental disabilities at the University of Alberta. Now celebrating its 20th Anniversary, we pause to reflect on the implementation, structure, function and evolution of the program, the first of its kind globally. Increasing social change has led to more and more…

Verbal skills were assessed at approximately ages 2, 3, 5, and 9 years for 206 children with a clinical diagnosis of autism (n = 98), pervasive developmental disorders-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS; n = 58), or nonspectrum developmental disabilities (n = 50). Growth curve analyses were used to analyze verbal skills trajectories over time.…

Neither school reform nor the focus on developing accountability systems that measure and evaluate the success of schooling are new or innovative educational practices. Even before the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, many states had changed or were changing their accountability and assessment systems. Similarly, individual school…

This study investigated the degree to which students with intellectual and developmental disabilities have access to the general education curriculum and the degree to which such access is related to and predicted by classroom setting and ecological variables. We observed 19 students during science or social studies instruction and collected data…

This study investigated the effects of a Direct Instruction (DI) reading comprehension program implemented with students who had developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and reading delays. There is little research in the area of reading comprehension for students with ASD and no research as to the effectiveness of…

The conceptual basis for many effective language-training programs are based on Skinner's (1957) analysis of verbal behavior. Skinner described several elementary verbal operants including mands, tacts, intraverbals, and echoics. According to Skinner, responses that are the same topography may actually be functionally independent. Previous…

Pragmatic language skills are important for developing relationships with others, and for communicating with a range of interlocutors in a variety of contexts, including preschool and elementary school classrooms. Pragmatic language difficulties frequently are a primary area of disability for children diagnosed with autism, Asperger's syndrome,…

Many children with mental retardation and developmental disabilities suffer from the consequences of chronic drooling. Behavioral treatment for drooling should be considered before other, more intrusive treatments such as medication and surgery are implemented. However, empirical studies on behavioral procedures are scarce. This article reviews 19…

This paper describes the development of the National Skill Standards for Community Based Human Service Practitioners and reports on a survey of states' training and certification requirements. The standards are grouped into 12 broad competency areas: (1) participant empowerment; (2) communication; (3) assessment; (4) community and service…

This bibliography, which was compiled in conjunction with a review of the developmental disabilities literature focusing on interventions with challenging behavior, contains references for 151 articles from 15 journals. The bibliography, covering articles published between 1988 and 1992, updates an earlier version which covered 1976 through 1987.…

Three agency teams at an ARC sheltered workshop providing comprehensive services to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families were surveyed about the dynamics of the team process and then received inservice training on the team process and on evaluating teams. The inservice training included lecture, discussion, role play, and…

This feature issue newsletter looks at issues the self-advocacy movement is raising and the contributions it is making to the lives of people with developmental disabilities. Articles by self-advocates and advisors to self-advocacy organizations talk about their self-advocacy experiences, barriers to self-advocacy, and ways to support it. Primary…

This report was issued by a conference committee of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to reconcile disagreeing votes on amendments to the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act. The Act is designed to assure that individuals with developmental disabilities and their families participate in the design of and have…

The report details accomplishments in the second year of a project serving 136 infants thought to be at high risk for developmental disabilities because of prematurity and serious illness. The project features a developmental intervention begun in the intensive care nursery (ICN) and continued in the infant's home during the first year of life. A…