Background: A growing number of services are focused on people with intellectual disabilities. Our study investigates interpersonal justice (interpersonal treatment families receive from service professionals) perceived by family members as a heuristic (cognitive shortcut) they can use to evaluate service performance directed towards improving the…

Background: Providing medical and dental care for adults with developmental disabilities requires specialised care that includes caregiver's perceptions of processes of care as integral to informing care delivery. Method: We examined the reach and efficacy of a medical-dental clinic serving adults with developmental disabilities as part of a…

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a training program focusing on improvement of emotional intelligence (EI) and support staffs' awareness of their behaviour towards people with an intellectual disability based on interactional patterns. The support provided regarding the needs for autonomy, relatedness, and…

Background: The aim of the present study was to conduct a preliminary empirical evaluation of the KooLKIDS program, a school-based intervention that utilises a combination of whole-of-class and individual sessions for young children with early onset antisocial behaviour. Method: Trained facilitators delivered the 13-session program to a completer…

Background: Quality behaviour support plans (BSPs) are critical for achieving positive outcomes for people with intellectual disability who exhibit challenging behaviour. This study measured the quality of BSPs for technical accuracy and appropriate readability. Method: Ten disability support organisations provided 139 BSPs for evaluation using…

Background: The Secret Agent Society (SAS) Program, an intervention to enhance social-emotional skills, was provided by schools for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The program was assessed to determine if it improved social skills at school and home, and whether improvements were maintained. Methods: Eighty-four students…

Background: Sexuality and relationship education for adults with an intellectual disability has failed to include them in roles other than as learners. This paper reports findings from a study of the experiences of peer educators with an intellectual disability who co-facilitated a respectful relationships education program. Method: Qualitative…

Much has been made of the advantages of active support and person-centred planning, both of which have gradually been evolving and changing over the last 25-30 years. The latter is now mandated in the UK as part of the "Valuing People" strategy on disability (Department of Health UK, 2001), and is also central to the follow-up policy…

Background: Services employing staff to support people with disability usually provide training in a range of areas including communication and managing challenging behaviour. Given that such training can be costly and time-consuming, it is important to evaluate the evidence presented in support of such programs. Efficacy in clinical practice is…

Background: While there have been several evaluations of programs to help parents manage difficult behaviour of their child with an intellectual disability, little research has focused on the evaluation of such programs when delivered to large populations. Method: The benchmarks recommended by Wiese, Stancliffe, and Hemsley (2005) were used to…

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate active support (AS) training and to investigate changes to perceived engagement in domestic tasks, opportunities for choice, frequency of challenging behaviour, and level of support needs. Method: Participants were 12 adults with ID aged 27-57 years (M = 37 years) residing in three group homes, and…

Background: Disability research data often exist in the form of individual records located within discrete registers that may extend across sensitive political boundaries. Method: This paper discusses the opportunities and challenges associated with using linked health and administrative data for disability research, with examples from research…

Background: Active support (AS) was developed to help staff organise and deliver practical support for meaningful client engagement in everyday activities. Both the amount and momentary effectiveness of staff support for client engagement have been found to increase following AS training. Training typically consists of a combination of workshops…