The application of telehealth technology to conduct functional analysis (FA) and functional communication training (FCT) is emerging for children with developmental disabilities and behaviour support needs. The current study was designed to extend FA + FCT for self-injurious behaviour by using telehealth in home with parents as interventionists…

Background: Mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to be effective in the treatment of a range of health and psychological disorders in adults and young people without intellectual disabilities (ID). Clinical studies are emerging reporting on the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions as a stand-alone treatment for common clinical…

Background: ASC (autism spectrum conditions) may result from a failure of striatal beta endorphins to diminish with maturation. Many symptoms of ASC resemble behaviours induced in animals or humans by opiate administration, including decreased socialisation, diminished crying, repetitive stereotypies, insensitivity to pain and motor hyperactivity.…

Background: Self-injuring acts are among the most dramatic behaviours exhibited by human beings. There is no known single cause and there is no universally agreed upon treatment. Sophisticated sequential and temporal analysis of behaviour has provided alternative descriptions of self-injury that provide new insights into its initiation and…

Background: Self-injurious behaviour is a chronic condition among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities for which there is no known cure. The pain hypothesis suggests that individuals who engage in self-injury have altered or diminished pain perception. The purpose of the present study was to assess how frequently individuals…

Background: Beliefs about the controllability of behaviour have been consistently shown to be important in understanding the responses of carers to the challenging behaviour of people with intellectual disabilities (IDs). This paper reports the reliability and validity of the Controllability Beliefs Scale (CBS), a 15-item measure of beliefs…

Background: The Motivation Assessment Scale (MAS) and the Questions About Behavioral Function (QABF) are frequently used to assess the learned function of challenging behaviour in people with intellectual disability (ID). The aim was to explore and compare the psychometric properties of the MAS and the QABF. Method: Seventy adults with ID and…

Background: Behavioural interventions conceptualise self-injurious behaviour (SIB) as developing from early repetitive behaviours through acquisition of homeostatic functions in regulating stimulation and subsequent shaping into SIB through socially mediated or automatic operant reinforcement. Despite high success rates, such interventions rarely…

Background: In most individuals, injury results in activation of peripheral nociceptors (pain-sensing neurons of the peripheral nervous system) and amplification of central nervous system (CNS) pain pathways that serve as a disincentive to continue harmful behaviour; however, this may not be the case in some developmental disorders that cause…

Background: The Behavior Problems Inventory-01 (BPI-01) is an informant-based behaviour rating instrument that was designed to assess maladaptive behaviours in individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). Its items fall into one of three sub-scales: "Self-injurious Behavior" (14 items), "Stereotyped Behavior" (24 items),…

Background: Self-injurious behaviour (SIB) is a devastating problem observed in individuals with various neurodevelopmental disorders, including specific genetic syndromes as well as idiopathic intellectual and developmental disability. Although an increased prevalence of SIB has been documented in specific genetic mutations, little is known about…

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been identified as a risk marker for self-injurious behaviour. In this study we aimed to describe the prevalence, topography and correlates of self-injury in individuals with ASD in contrast to individuals with Fragile X and Down syndromes and examine person characteristics associated with self-injury…

Background: Self-injurious behaviour (SIB) is prevalent in neurodevelopmental disorders, but its expression is highly variable within, and between diagnostic categories. This raises questions about the factors that contribute to aetiology and expression of SIB. Expression of SIB is generally described in relation to social reinforcement. However,…

Background: Challenging behaviour is a major problem among people with intellectual disabilities. Physical factors may be an important cause. The aim of the present systematic review was to determine the physical conditions associated with challenging behaviour. Methods: A literature search was conducted in PubMed and the Cochrane systematic…

Background: The prevalence, phenomenology aetiology and correlates of four forms of challenging behaviour in 32 children and adults with Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS) were investigated. Methods: Cognitive assessments, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used to gather data on intellectual disability, verbal and physical aggression,…