For children with autism or intellectual and developmental disabilities who also have complex communication needs, communication is a necessary skill set to increase independence and quality of life. Understanding the how, where, and communication style being taught is important for identifying deficits in the field as well as which interventions…

Purpose: Many aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems require the use of an external display that is represented via a visual modality. It is critical to evaluate and understand visual-perceptual processing in individuals with disabilities who could benefit from AAC. One way to evaluate how individuals process visual…

A literature review of evidence-based social skills curricula that support adolescents with autism and developmental disabilities (ASD/DD) is presented. This article provides an overview of peer-reviewed articles and evaluation of the feasibility of implementing evidence-based interventions for social skills within the academic setting for…

An annual school census is held in the four countries of the UK in which pupils with ASD are identified. This longitudinal study of the total UK school population compares increases in prevalence rates for pupils with ASD over a nine-year period from 2010/11. Northern Ireland had the highest prevalence throughout, reaching 3.20% by 2018/19…

This paper compared the effectiveness and efficiency of using computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and teacher-implemented instruction (TII) to teach visual matching skills to students with autism spectrum disorder and/or other developmental disabilities. Four school-aged students participated in this study with an alternating treatment design. The…

Impairments in structural language and pragmatics are well recognized in different neurodevelopmental disorders, yet in clinical work the discrimination of children with various language difficulties into different diagnostic profile is still a major challenge. Using the CCC-2 questionnaire this study assesses and compares language competences in…

The present study examined 97 adolescent siblings of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), or no disabilities. Siblings reported on their feelings toward their brother or sister (anxiety, hostility, and positive affect), and parents reported on general optimism, child behavior problems,…

The objective of our study was to evaluate the frequency of treatable inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) in a clinical sample of Mexican children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). Amino acids and acylcarnitines in blood samples of 51 unrelated children and adolescents were analyzed by tandem mass spectrometry to detect…

The inclusion of children with special educational needs into mainstream schools needs effort and cooperation by all those involved. Both educators and medical professions need to be skilled in identifying and supporting neurodiversity. This study explores the cross-professional understanding and support of four of the most prevalent…

Sleep problems are prevalent in children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and are associated with the expression of restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs). Children (n = 57) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n = 38) or developmental delay (DD, n = 19) participated in multiple assessments of intellectual ability, ASD symptoms, and RRBs (3…

Parents are often responsible for educating their child about sexuality and relationships, yet many parents may not be aware of the sexuality-related topics to teach. Sexuality education is critical for children with autism and intellectual disabilities, who are often vulnerable to sexual abuse and other sexual behavior outcomes. Families teaching…

Lag reinforcement schedules have been shown in previous research to be an effective intervention for teaching verbal and nonverbal response variability to individuals with developmental disabilities. In more recent research, variability itself has been considered a reinforceable behavior in its own right (Susa & Schlinger, The Analysis of…

A better understanding of the factors associated with depression and anxiety in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is needed to provide guidelines for service providers, clinicians, and researchers as well as to improve the diagnostic process. The current study used a longitudinal dataset to explore demographic, health,…

One intervention that has been evaluated in numerous empirical investigations and has been implemented clinically is Social Stories. Social Stories are a systematic form of intervention where a text is written describing a situation (e.g., social situation) and how the learner should respond during that situation. Previous reviews and analysis…

As the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder continues to rise, there is a growing demand for well-trained service providers to provide behavior analytic interventions. With this increased service need comes the necessity to develop new and efficient training methods as an alternative to traditional face-to-face training. This paper provides a…