This brief is the first in a series focusing on Employment First implementation as it relates to one of the seven elements within the High-Performing States in Integrated Employment model. It examines the background of circumstances under which Employment First efforts began in seven states, and introduces each state's values, mission, and goals…

Special education teachers in rural settings face unique challenges related to providing transition services to secondary students with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (IDD). Geographically isolated school districts tend to have limited collaborative partnership opportunities and access to quality professional development to…

Introduction: Digital mental health interventions are on the rise; yet people with intellectual disabilities are not generally seen as their potential users. This study aims to explore the accessibility of two mainstream online mood-management programmes. Methods: Using a qualitative study design, 12 adults with intellectual disabilities were…

Mathematics instruction -- and interventions to support mathematics teaching -- for students with intellectual disability is important yet underexamined. This study explored a graduated instructional sequence referred to as the virtual-representational (VR) as a mathematical intervention. Researchers taught four students with disabilities what…

A retrospective chart study of patients on open-label aripiprazole treatment was conducted in the Netherlands to add to the knowledge of aripiprazole in children and young adults with mild and borderline intellectual disabilities (IDs). Fifty-three youths, mean age 14.7 ± 3.4 years and mean IQ 64.5 ±13.8, were included. Treatment responders were…

The activity area-based curriculum model (AACM) is used in the Finnish basic education to support pupils--most of whom have profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD)--who could benefit more from skills that advance independent life coping. Existing studies have concentrated mainly on the Individual Education Plan (IEP) goal-setting…

Youth with disabilities are overall less engaged in extracurricular, community, and social activities than their peers without disabilities. Specifically, youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD; e.g., autism, intellectual disability) are less likely to participate in extracurricular or social activities compared to peers with…

Adults with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability often do not engage in healthy levels of physical activity despite its many benefits. We conducted a randomized control trial to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of the Step It Up program, which used supported self-management strategies, on daily step counts, health…

College-based transition services provide opportunities for transition-age students with intellectual disability and autism (ID/A) between the ages of 18 and 22 to receive their final years of secondary transition services in a college or university setting. We compared the extent to which youth with ID/A experience in-school predictors of…

Background: People with intellectual disabilities at the end of life are at risk of receiving inadequate and inequitable end-of-life care. This study explores their unmet needs, opportunities for person-centred care and experiences of health service use. Methods: Qualitative interviews with 26 experienced health professionals and carers were used…

Research was reviewed on the use of high-tech instructional tools in small-group arrangements for learners receiving special education services. Researchers identified 14 articles with 46 participants and 42 single-case research designs published between 2001 and 2018. Instruction occurred for a range of age groups, settings, and instructional…

In the current study, we employed a concurrent multiple probe across participants design to examine the effects of an intervention package (i.e., response prompting, frames, technology) on sentence writing for three participants, ages 10-12, with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Specifically, we taught participants to write…

The aim of this paper was to examine the selected physical and motoric characteristics of students with mild intellectual disabilities. The total number of the participants was 119 (54 females and 65 males) and the mean age was 10.78 ± 1.88 years. Height, weight, body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, and body fat mass scores were collected…

The following article details a piece of service development work undertaken as part of the Plymouth Down Syndrome Screening Programme. The work aimed to review the use of three measures assessing executive functioning skills used within the Programme as well as with people without Down syndrome. Three tasks assessing executive functioning (the…

Background: The study reports the findings of an evaluation of Project SEARCH UK. The programme develops internships for young people with intellectual disabilities who are about to leave school or college. The aim of the evaluation was to investigate at what rate Project SEARCH provided employment opportunities to participants. Methods: The…