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…

We evaluated an intervention procedure for teaching three students with developmental disabilities to independently operate a portable multimedia device (i.e., an iPod Touch[R]) to listen to music. The intervention procedure included the use of video modeling, which was presented on the same iPod Touch[R] that the students were taught to operate…

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…

Immigrant families with children with developmental disabilities must be served using culturally sensitive approaches to service and research to maximize treatment benefits. In an effort to better understand cultural issues relevant to the provision of parenting programs for immigrant Mexican mothers of children with developmental disabilities, we…

We live in a multisensory world and one of the challenges the brain is faced with is deciding what information belongs together. Our ability to make assumptions about the relatedness of multisensory stimuli is partly based on their temporal and spatial relationships. Stimuli that are proximal in time and space are likely to be bound together by…

Promoting literacy development was not a priority for early childhood special educators 25 years ago. The turn of the century gave rise to a scientific basis of reading that outlined what skills need to be taught to facilitate literacy achievement. Steady progress has been made in moving early childhood education to teaching the skills that are…

Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) is used to teach a variety of skills to children with developmental disabilities. However, it remains unclear whether CAI or direct instruction from a therapist produces better learning outcomes. In addition, no studies have evaluated the ease of training therapists to implement CAI versus direct instruction. In…

Education and human service organizations providing services to people with intellectual and closely related developmental disabilities are increasingly being impacted by the supports paradigm, the quality of life concept, and the evaluation of personal outcomes. In this article the authors discuss the relationship among these three areas,…

Self-directed programs that allow individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to exercise greater control over their finances have become increasingly common in recent years. At the same time, challenges in the recruitment, retention, and training of direct support workers in the field have grown more acute. In this article, the…

Carer communication skills contribute to the well being of individuals with learning disabilities. Few studies have examined the effectiveness of communication training interventions, and there is a lack of robust measures of outcome. A communication self-efficacy measure relevant to carers supporting adults with learning disabilities was…

Almost everyone enjoys a walk through a garden, bending to sniff a flower, enjoying a fresh air breeze, listening to water bubbling from a fountain, and watching sunlight dapple through trees and plants. At Allegheny Valley School (AVS), the emphasis on multisensory environments (MSE) for individuals with intellectual and developmental…

Understanding the nature and consequences of intellectual and developmental disabilities is challenging, especially when the condition is rare, affected individuals are geographically dispersed, and/or resource constraints limit large-scale studies involving direct assessment. Surveys provide an alternative methodology for gathering information…

The video model method is an application with evidence basis, defined as watching and taking as a model the target behavior exhibited by the person on the videotape. The video model method is a teaching method that can be used in teaching many different skills to children displaying normal development and to children with developmental…

This study evaluated whether two persons with developmental disabilities would be able to improve their pointing performance through a Dual Cursor Automatic Pointing Assistive Program (DCAPAP) with a newly developed mouse driver (i.e., a new mouse driver replaces standard mouse driver, and is able to intercept/detect mouse movement action). First,…