A brief functional analysis was conducted in an analogue setting to identify the maintaining variables for upright walking in a woman with developmental disabilities supported in an outpatient setting. All conditions required modification, since treatment outcomes were intended to increase, rather than decrease, the target behavior. The…

Parents of children with special needs compose a community of kindred spirits. Sure, there are differences: Even when there are multiple issues involved, a family dealing with primarily medical challenges will have different concerns from another caring for a child with mostly developmental disabilities, behavioral issues, learning disabilities,…

Williams syndrome (WS) is a developmental disorder associated with relatively spared verbal skills and severe visuospatial deficits. It has also been reported that individuals with WS are impaired at mathematics. We examined mathematical skills in persons with WS using the second edition of the Test of Early Mathematical Ability (TEMA-2), which…

Human Needs and Intellectual Disabilities identifies the 12 human needs most relevant to the lives of people with intellectual disabilities, autism and related developmental disabilities. It includes detailed, practical suggestions for caregivers or parents interested in the happiness, quality of life, and self-determination of their loved ones or…

Problem/Condition: Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of developmental disabilities characterized by atypical development in socialization, communication, and behavior. ASDs typically are apparent before age 3 years, with associated impairments affecting multiple areas of a person's life. Because no biologic marker exists for ASDs,…

This study examines caregiver burden and social supports perceived by mothers raising children with developmental disabilities in South Korea. Mothers residing in the metropolitan areas of Seoul (n = 181) responded to the mail survey with a 56.6% response rate. Respondents expressed a high level of overall burden, particularly in financial…

Vibroacoustic music has been proposed to be an effective treatment for individuals with developmental disorders and challenging behaviors. The present study experimentally tested the effects of vibroacoustic music on self-injurious, stereotypical, and aggressive destructive behaviors in 20 individuals with autism spectrum disorders and…

Sleep disturbances are a significant problem for persons with developmental disabilities. These problems occur at a higher rate than what is observed in the typically developing population, and persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) appear to be at a higher risk than individuals with other developmental disabilities. However, another major…

Developmental dyslexia is associated with functional abnormalities within reading areas of the brain. For some children diagnosed with dyslexia, phonologically based remediation programs appear to rehabilitate brain function in key reading areas (Shaywitz et al., Biological Psychiatry 55: 101-110, 2004; Simos et al., Neuroscience 58: 1203-1213,…

This basic interpretive study addressed the reasons why parents seek a differential diagnosis for their child who has a developmental disability. Fourteen parents were interviewed about why they sought a label for the disabilities of their child. Participants included six parents of children with identified genetic conditions, three parents of…

Background: Epidemiological studies of mental health problems in the first years of life are few. This study aims to investigate infancy predictors of psychopathology in the second year of life. Methods: A random general population sample of 210 children from the Copenhagen Child Birth Cohort CCC 2000 was investigated by data from National Danish…

To test the efficacy, acceptability, and appropriateness of a nutrition education and support program, 4 community-based group homes for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities participated in a pilot intervention with extended baseline period and pre--post-test design. Adults (N = 32) with intellectual or developmental…

This study examined the effects of a multicomponent social communication intervention to promote language learning and peer-directed social interactions in preschool children with disabilities. Participants were eight children with developmental disabilities who met the specified criteria for the study. The intervention consisted of three…

Background: Adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities need dietary monitoring but are not likely to be able to provide accurate dietary intake data via traditional methods. Pilot study efforts to meet their support needs with a novel and practical approach to dietary intake data collection are described in this brief report. Materials…

Disrupted sensory processing, characterized by over- or underresponsiveness to environmental stimuli, has been reported in children with a variety of developmental disabilities. This study examined the effects of prenatal stress and moderate-level prenatal alcohol exposure on tactile sensitivity and its relationship to striatal dopamine system…