Background: Children with severe and profound intellectual disabilities experience multiple chronic health conditions requiring a variety of medications. The aim of this study was to explore mothers' lived experience of giving medicines to children with severe and profound intellectual disabilities. Materials and Methods: A hermeneutic…

Heightened attention towards negative information is characteristic of depression. Evidence is emerging for a negative attentional bias in Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), perhaps driven by the high comorbidity between ASD and depression. We investigated whether ASD is characterised by a negative attentional bias and whether this can be explained…

Social anxiety and depression are commonly comorbid and cause significant impairment in college students. Past research suggests that both poor attentional control and increased rumination are related to these disorders and independently mediate their relationship. Theory suggests that social anxiety loads working memory, thus decreasing…

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is characterized by variable neurobehavioral abnormalities, which leads to difficulties in developing and evaluating treatments and in determining accurate prognosis. We employed a pediatric cross-sectional sample (1,072 males, 338 females) from FORWARD, a clinic-based natural history study, to identify behavioral subtypes…

Background: Young adults (YA) with intellectual/developmental disabilities and co-occurring mental health conditions (MH) are underemployed. One reason may be a lack of accommodations that mitigate the impact of MH challenges at work. We explored common workplace MH impacts and supportive accommodations. Methods: Interviews with YA with…

Objective: Examine differences in care patterns around adult ADHD between race (White/Non-White) and ethnic (Hispanic/Non-Hispanic) groups utilizing existing quality measures (QMs), concerning diagnosis, treatment, and medication prescribing. Methods: The AAFP National Research Network in partnership with SUNY Upstate Medical used an EHR dataset…

Individuals with multiple disabilities are among the most challenging to serve and AAC teams often lack direction in determining effective interventions. The purpose of this scoping review was to summarize the research evidence on AAC interventions for individuals with complex communication needs and simultaneous motor, and visual impairments as…

There have been significant efforts to develop, adapt, and test interventions targeting the co-occurring mental health conditions common among autistic youth, with several extant narrative and systematic reviews demonstrating the efficacy of these interventions. Yet, a methodological analysis of the literature testing these interventions,…

Self-determination (SD) is linked to autonomy and better adult outcomes. Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often less independent than cognitively matched peers. Given the frequency with which depression co-occurs in ASD and the established association between depression and SD, we sought to evaluate the influence of both ASD severity…

The rate of college students with disabilities and co-occurring mental health disorders (D/MH) is steadily increasing across the U.S. However, despite available services and supports, the outcomes of these students lag behind their peers without D/MH. Further, little is known about the needs of students with D/MH, including barriers they…

The current study explores functioning in individuals with co-occurring Autism Spectrum Disorder and Down Syndrome (ASD+DS; n = 23), individuals with ASD and cognitive impairment (ASD+ID; n = 99) and individuals with idiopathic ID (n = 38). ANCOVA results revealed that individuals with ASD+DS showed strengths in behavioral functioning compared to…

Background: People with intellectual disability often receive diagnoses which may complicate their clinical care. Among these, personality disorder diagnoses are still considered contentious. Little is also known on the perspectives of staff caring for people with intellectual disability who have received a personality disorder diagnosis. Methods:…

There is an ongoing debate as to whether autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is expressed differently in women than men. It is unclear whether differences found are specific to autism or merely reflecting normative development. In this study, we compared sex differences in developmental trajectories of autistic and co-occurring psychopathological…

Introduction: Mental health assessment in autistic individuals with intellectual disabilities may be challenging. Findings from non-autistic samples indicate overlap between obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and psychotic disorder/schizophrenia, but little is known about this potential overlap in autistic people. Methods: Explorative,…

There has been a heightened awareness of an increased risk of suicidality among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) due to high rates of suicidal ideation (SI) in this population (11-66%). The current study investigated the rate of parent-endorsed SI and associated clinical features in 48 youths with ASD (Age; M: 12.97 years, SD:…