Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases a list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field of autism research. The "Summary of Advances" provides short, plain language summaries of the top research breakthroughs selected by the IACC from a pool of research articles nominated by…

When visual impairments (VI) and learning disabilities (LD) coexist, it is common for one (i.e., typically LD) to go unidentified. Some school districts may be reluctant to identify students with both VI and LD, potentially causing students to miss out on much-needed services. Child study teams can find support to address this dual diagnosis using…

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), in response to recommendations in the Annual Report of the Advisory Council on the Education of Gifted and Talented Students (2015), has produced this document to provide guidance for school districts to more equitably identify and meet the needs of traditionally…

This article introduces neurodevelopmental and clinical considerations for treating adolescents with co-occurring attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and adolescent substance use (ASU) in outpatient settings. We first describe neurobiological impairments common to ADHD and ASU, including comorbidity with conduct disorder, that evoke a…

Parents of children on the autism spectrum often talk about a number of comorbid conditions that can accompany the disorder--immunological dysfunctions, frequent ear infections, intractable strep, gastrointestinal disorders, rampant yeast, inexplicable regressions, allergies. The author did not guess that her son would have all of those as well as…

The number of students identified under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) with an emotional disturbance (ED) has remained remarkably stable over the last 30 years. During this time, approximately 1% of the school-aged population has been identified as disabled under the criteria set forth in IDEA (Kim, Forness, & Walker,…

In the United States, research directed specifically at improving our understanding of the psychiatric assessment and treatment of individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) has grown, yet lags far behind efforts for typically developing children and adults. In the United States, a lack of a national approach to the mental health problems of…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases its annual list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field. The 20 studies selected have given new insight into the complex causes of autism and potential risk factors, studied clues that could lead to earlier diagnosis, and evaluated promising…

Assessment and identification of children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) is complex and involves multiple techniques, levels, and participants. While federal law sets the general parameters for identification in school settings, these criteria are vague and may lead to inconsistencies in selection and interpretation of assessment…

Chronic noncancer pain (CNCP) is common in the general population as well as in people who have a substance use disorder (SUD) (Exhibit 1-1). Chronic pain is not harmless; it has physiological, social, and psychological dimensions that can seriously harm health, functioning, and well-being. As a multidimensional condition with both objective and…

Treatment Improvement Protocols (TIPs) are developed by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Each TIP involves the development of topic-specific best-practice guidelines for the prevention and…

The National Child Count of Children and Youth who are Deaf-Blind is the first and longest running registry and knowledge base of children who are deaf-blind in the world. It represents a 25 year collaborative effort between NCDB, its predecessors and each state deaf-blind project throughout the country, as well as those projects funded in the…