Background: Understanding the operant function of self-injurious behavior in autistic individuals is imperative to understanding its etiology and designing effective prevention strategies. Methods: We conducted a postal survey of residential care facilities including two functional assessment tools: QABF and IfES. Questionnaires for N = 178…

Background: In the Spanish and Catalan context, there is currently a lack of standardized, linguistically adapted tools to assess people with communication disorders. This lack is especially evident when it comes to instruments designed to assess functional communication. Aims: The main objective of this study is to adapt the instrument entitled…

Background: The Welfare Reform Act (2012) has been criticised for harming claimants, particularly through functional assessments. Although many people with intellectual disabilities in the UK receive welfare benefits, their experiences of undergoing functional assessments are under-researched. Method: Eight participants with intellectual…

This article evaluates the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary intensive community support service, using positive behavioural support (PBS) as a core intervention model to reduce behaviours of concern and to improve the quality of life and occupational involvement of individuals with a learning disability who present with behaviours that…

Background: Some individuals with intellectual disabilities (IDs) exhibit aggressive behaviour directed towards themselves, others or the environment. Displaying aggressive behaviour is associated with a number of negative consequences such as the exposure to restrictive interventions. This study aims to identify personal and environmental factors…

Background: The quality of behaviour support plans (BSPs) can be an important influence on the quality of the support provided to people with disability who show challenging behaviours. The Behavior Support Plan Quality Evaluation Guide II (BSP-QE II) is one tool that may be useful in assessing the quality of behaviour support plans. It has…

Background: Adults with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) require support to be part of the community; however, most have few supports other than family and friends. The purpose of this study was to assess caregiver perceptions of community integration of adults with FASD living in British Columbia. Method: The Assimilation, Integration,…

Functional assessments were conducted for two Irish individuals with severe disabilities and aberrant behavior. A modified attention condition was introduced, which involved both parents interacting with a third person. Aberrant behavior occurred only in the modified attention condition. Successful treatment consisted of delivery of attention on a…

It is argued that challenging behavior can be better understood if a correlational analysis (looking for correlations between behavior occurrence and other variables) is used in addition to functional analysis. A case example is provided of a man whose aggressive outbursts were negatively correlated with trips out of his unit. (Contains…

Prevalence of underweight and obesity were investigated in 282 mentally retarded persons living on the West Coast of Norway. Data collected in this survey suggest that people with severe mental retardation were more likely to be underweight and people with mild mental retardation were more likely to be obese. Compared to persons of average…

This book offers a British perspective on ways of conceptualizing, assessing, and intervening in the challenging behavior of people with severe learning disabilities, with emphasis on the types of technical support needed. An introductory chapter explains why the term "learning disability" is used rather than mental handicap, mental…