Purpose: Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS), a rare, genetically linked complex developmental disorder caused by a deletion or mutation within chromosome 17p11.2, is associated with delays in speech-language development, otopathology, and hearing loss, yet previous studies lack comprehensive descriptions of hearing and communication profiles. Here,…

Physical activity has many benefits, but many individuals with developmental disabilities fail to exercise regularly. Procedures in which consequences were arranged for exercising, alone or as part of a treatment package, have consistently increased physical activity by members of this population. We review 19 studies that arranged such…

Purpose: Most speech-language pathologists (SLPs) working with children with developmental language disorder (DLD) do not perform language sample analysis (LSA) on a regular basis, although they do regard LSA as highly informative for goal setting and evaluating grammatical therapy. The primary aim of this study was to identify facilitators,…

Patients and families experiencing developmental disabilities (DDs) may lack trust in physicians due to negative experiences in healthcare. DDs include conditions impairing physical, learning, language, or behavior areas, beginning during the developmental period and impacting daily functioning ('Developmental Disabilities'). Medical students…

The MABC-2 Checklist is a method designed preferentially for teachers and parents to evaluate how well a child performs movement skills within school, family and community settings. It serves as screening tool for the impact of motor skills deficits in children on activities of daily living, academic or school performance, leisure and play. This…

Requests for pathological demand avoidance diagnoses have increased over recent years but pathological demand avoidance remains a controversial issue. We undertook a systematic review of peer-reviewed studies of pathological demand avoidance, using standardised appraisal and synthesis methods, to assess how pathological demand avoidance is…

Primary caregivers of children with developmental disabilities encounter unique challenges that can affect their overall health and well-being. This pilot study sought to explore the definitions of and experiences with health-promoting self-care in primary caregivers of children with developmental disabilities. Thirteen primary caregivers of…

Purpose/Objectives: Children with developmental disorders may require texture-modified diets. The purpose of this study was to determine if materials developed by the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI) are feasible for use by child nutrition personnel. Methods: Researchers created training materials based on IDDSI…

Background: Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities are more likely to engage in problem behaviours than peers with typical development. The purpose of this study was to provide descriptive and qualitative information about problem behaviours in children with fragile X syndrome (FXS) and how families respond to these…

Introduction: Parents and their children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) are under significant amounts of stress (Lecavalier, Leone & Wiltz, 2006). When stress escalates to crisis, some children with IDD are admitted to the emergency department or an inpatient unit. While existing measures evaluate stress over time, we…

This paper describes the FAB (Functionally Alert Behavior) Strategies approach to improve behavior in children and adolescents with complex behavioral challenges. FAB Strategies include evidence-based environmental adaptations, sensory modulation, positive behavioral support, and physical self-regulation strategies. FAB Strategies can be used by…

This guide was created because parents revealed, through extensive social research, that they often received inconsistent and confusing parenting information from different professionals and practitioners across different disciplines, leading to misunderstandings and a lack of confidence about how best to support their children's development. In…

Toxic exposures during pregnancy and early childhood continue to play an important role as a preventable cause of neurodevelopmental disabilities in the U.S. and around the world. Identifying and eliminating these toxins should be a priority, but the task is made exceedingly difficult due to the severe limits of scientific knowledge in this area…

The study examined community based services for developmentally disabled children and their families. A mail survey questionnaire was completed by 66 parents whose children, ages 3 to 21, were attending special schools in a Midwestern suburb. The findings reported are concerned with parents': (1) utilization of primary and professional resources…

This paper explains the brief stimulus preference procedure (SPA), which is designed to identify efficiently the effective reinforcers for children with autism and other developmental disabilities. SPA involves presenting the child with four items he/she generally responds well to plus one new item. After allowing the child to pick his preferred…