This study measured the quality of life of two groups of families with children who had severe developmental disabilities-families whose child lived at home and families whose child lived in a residential facility. Participants were 54 primary caregivers of children who had severe intellectual disabilities and who lacked the ability to both…

A common recommendation for implementing time-out procedures is to include a release contingency such that the individual is not allowed to leave time-out until no problem behavior has occurred for a specific amount of time (e.g, 30 s). We compared a fixed duration time-out procedure to a release contingency time-out procedure with 4 young…

This preliminary study compares the family functioning, caregiver burden, and coping abilities between mothers of 300 children with developmental disorders and mothers of 100 children with no such disorders in the Bedouin community in Israel. The mothers completed the McMaster Family Assessment Device Scale, the Caregiver Burden Index, and the…

This commentary includes a brief discussion of issues raised by the articles and systematic review contained in this special issue addressing technology applications for persons with severe developmental disabilities. Topical areas include a discussion of: (1) a need to compare "high tech" with "low tech" applications, (2) procedural fidelity, (3)…

In this study, the relationship between gesture recognition and imitation was explored. Nineteen individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) were compared to a control group of 23 typically developing children on their ability to imitate and recognize three gesture types (transitive, intransitive, and pantomimes). The ASD group performed more…

The present study was a multisite randomized clinical trial assessing the effects of adding a cognitive-behavioral intervention to positive behavior support (PBS). Fifty-four families who met the criteria of (a) having a child with a developmental disability, (b) whose child displayed serious challenging behavior (e.g., aggression, self-injury,…

The purpose of this study was to examine if children with dyslexia learning to read a consistent orthography (Greek) experience auditory and visual processing deficits and if these deficits are associated with phonological awareness, rapid naming speed and orthographic processing. We administered measures of general cognitive ability, phonological…

Preferences of 2 children with developmental disabilities, whose functional analyses indicated that their problem behavior was maintained by access to tangible items, were assessed using three formats (i.e., paired stimulus [PS], multiple-stimulus without replacement [MSWO], and free operant [FO]). The experimenter administered each format five…

Oxygen consumption at peak physical exertion (VO[subscript 2] maximum) is the most widely used indicator of cardiorespiratory fitness. The purpose of this study was to compare two protocols for its estimation, cycle ergometer testing and the 20 m shuttle run, among children with and without probable developmental coordination disorder (pDCD). The…

A retrospective cohort study was undertaken to identify risk factors for children at greatest risk of delayed diagnosis of developmental disability. Two thousand four hundred and thirty-nine children were selected for this study due to their participation in the California Early Start (ES) Program in 1998. Comparisons were made among children that…

Background: Intellectually disabled offenders may have different characteristics than offenders with average intellectual functioning. We therefore compared pre-trial reported defendants with an IQ score =70, 71-84 and =85 points. Methods: Nationwide database of pre-trial psychiatric reports requested by Dutch courts between 2000 and 2006 with a…

This study aimed to (1) compare functional balance performance and sensory organization of postural control between children with and without developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and (2) determine the association between postural control and participation diversity among children with DCD. We recruited 81 children with DCD and 67 typically…

Aim: The aim of the present study was to standardize and generate psychometric evidence of the German language versions of two well-established English language mental health instruments: the "Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community" (ABC-C) and the "Psychiatric Assessment Schedule for Adults with Developmental Disabilities" (PAS-ADD) Checklist. New…

Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease risk factors such as obesity and reduced cardio-respiratory fitness. However, there is limited data using laboratory measures for assessing the risk of cardiovascular disease associated with DCD. The purpose of this study was to examine…

The impact of prenatal alcohol exposure on memory and brain development was investigated in 92 African-American, young adults who were first identified in the prenatal period. Three groups (Control, n = 26; Alcohol-related Neurodevelopmental Disorder, n = 36; and Dysmorphic, n = 30) were imaged using structural MRI with brain volume calculated for…