Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities have medical conditions similar to those among the general population but with more complex presentation, a extended life expectancy, and increased risk of morbidity and mortality. These adults' health education has been inadequate. In this qualitative study, the author describes the…

A child's move from early intervention (EI) to special education preschool is considered to be a critical transition point for both the child and family. Family concerns during this process are heightened by changes in service delivery systems. Although much has been written about the transition from EI services, little is known about the parents'…

Chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) has emerged as a powerful new tool to identify genomic abnormalities associated with a wide range of developmental disabilities including congenital malformations, cognitive impairment, and behavioral abnormalities. CMA includes array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and single nucleotide polymorphism…

Behavioral researchers have investigated procedures for identifying preferred items for individuals with varying levels of developmental disabilities. Some researchers in this area have reported difficulties in identifying preferred items for individuals with severe to profound multiple disabilities (SPMD), in part because the individuals may not…

Understanding the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drugs used in psychopharmacology across the pediatric age spectrum from infants to adolescents represents a major challenge for clinicians. In pediatrics, treatment protocols use either standard dose reductions for these drugs for children below a certain age or use less conventional…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of manual sign mand training combined with prompt delay and vocal prompting on the production of vocal responses in nonvocal children with developmental disabilities. A multiple baseline design across participants verified the effectiveness of this intervention. All participants showed…

This study examined the extent to which employment specialists implemented the job development practices recommended in the research literature when assisting job seekers with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Self-reported data were collected through a Web-based survey from 163 employment specialists from 74 employment programs in 28…

Psychotropic medications are commonly used as an adjunct treatment in large-scale residential care facilities for adults with developmental disabilities. While the benefits of medication are noted, there are very severe conditions that can result from long term medication use. Tardive dyskinesia (TD) manifests as a variety of involuntary,…

Inclusive education has become more common in schools, and children with developmental disabilities have had greater opportunities to interact, and hopefully establish relationships with their typically developing peers. While the quality of friendships between typically developing children has been examined in detail, relatively little comparable…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether an interview protocol, based on the Friendship Quality Questionnaire, could be adapted to examine the close relationships of children with developmental disabilities in an inclusive school setting. Twenty-five children with developmental disabilities aged between approximately 5 and 12 years…

The aim of this paper was to describe the development of the cognitive domain of the Preschool Developmental Assessment Scale (PDAS) for assessment of preschool children with developmental disabilities. The initial version of the cognitive domain consisted of 87 items. They were administered to 324 preschool children, including 240 children from…

A cognitive phenotype is a product of both assets and deficits that specifies what individuals with spina bifida meningomyelocele (SBM) can and cannot do and why they can or cannot do it. In this article, we review the cognitive phenotype of SBM and describe the processing assets and deficits that cut within and across content domains, sensory…

During an outcomes study of spasticity treatment at a developmental center for 62 residents with profound intellectual disabilities, either botulinum toxin A (BTX-A), intrathecal baclofen (ITB), or both were recommended with physical and occupational therapy. Conservators consented to BTX-A more than ITB (p = 0.021). Court-appointed conservators…

Aim: Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) are known to participate in active play less than typically developing children. However, it is not known whether the activity deficit between children with and without DCD widens or diminishes over time. Method: Data were obtained from a large, prospective cohort study of children…

The Bilingual Aphasia Test (BAT) is designed to be objective (so it can be administered by a lay native speaker of the language) and equivalent across languages (to allow for a comparison between the languages of a given patient as well as across patients from different institutions). It has been used not only with aphasia but also with any…