Families of children with developmental disabilities are faced with many challenges in the course of their child's learning and language development. Feeding difficulty is recognised as an additional challenge in children with developmental disabilities which further affects the child's development and health. The severity can range from picky…

Meaningful progress in improving employment outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities continues to be elusive, despite 40 years of investment in research, policy, and supports. This article reviews the current state of employment for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and describes policy,…

Preparing for college is an exciting and stressful process often filled with anticipation and uncertainty. It is important for prospective students, their families, and educators to understand the admissions process and expectations that inclusive postsecondary education programs hold for incoming students with intellectual and developmental…

Lack of diversity in IDD research is typically conceptualized only in terms of (1) recruitment of samples that do not appropriately represent the sociodemographics of the population, or (2) the limited number of researchers from historically marginalized backgrounds. Critically, the field also suffers from over-reliance on perspectives and social…

The terms Language Disorder, Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Language-based learning disabilities, Specific Learning Disorder, and Specific Learning Disability are commonly used to describe children struggling to learn at school. In this position paper, the definitions and distinctions between these terms are discussed, and key overlaps and…

The terms Language Disorder, Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Language-based learning disabilities, Specific Learning Disorder, and Specific Learning Disability are commonly used to describe children struggling to learn at school. In this position paper, the definitions and distinctions between these terms are discussed, and key overlaps and…

Autism is heterogeneous at many levels, including clinical symptoms and etiology. A key strategy in studying heterogeneous conditions is having large enough sample sizes to stratify into smaller groups that are more homogeneous. SPARK and Simons Searchlight are large and growing research cohorts of individuals with autism in the United States and…

Adults living with intellectual and developmental disabilities are often prescribed psychotropic medication on an "as needed" basis (PRN) in response to behavioural challenges. In the present study we conducted a retrospective analysis of medication administration records in the 6-months preceding and following discharge of 11 adults…

Medical students receive very little instruction related to caring for people with intellectual/developmental disabilities. As a result, medical students and physicians alike report low levels of confidence in their ability to provide care to this population. In this piece, I provide a medical student's perspective on how to implement changes in…

Organization-wide positive behavior support (OW-PBS) is a framework for improving quality of life and preventing challenging behaviors for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). This tiered PBS framework has been adapted from schools for use in disability services. Supporting people with IDD involves a variety…

Background: Tailored sexuality education for adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities is a crucial, yet unmet, need as this population is particularly at risk for sexual abuse and victimisation. However, there are no evidence-based interventions to specifically address this need. This paper presents the development of an…

Pediatric Feeding Disorder, a common problem in children, is commoner in children with various developmental disorders. Children with pediatric feeding disorder can have food selectivity and lack dietary diversity (DD). In this paper, an understanding of DD in these children is provided along with a dietary diversity index that can be helpful in…

People with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities and their families and professionals often engage in person-centered planning to determine current and future supports needed to improve quality of life. Previous practice focused heavily on applying for disability specific supports referred to as formal supports and waiting hopefully,…

A functional behavior assessment is an evidence-based process that identifies the function of challenging behaviors in order for educators to develop behavior intervention plans for students with disabilities. All behaviors are under stimulus control and research indicates that behaviors typically serve four functions: tangible, escape, attention,…

Researchers have implemented inclusive research for over 30 years. This article describes how two research projects collaborated with researchers with disabilities and aligns the description with four attributes of inclusive research developed by a consensus of international experts with and without disabilities. The first project, the Person…