Problem behavior significantly impedes multiple aspects of quality of life for individuals with developmental disabilities, and thus represents a major priority for intervention. Psychotropic medications are commonly administered to treat such behavior; however, these agents are often associated with adverse side effects that may have a negative…

As more students with autism, intellectual disabilities, and other developmental disabilities are placed in general education classes, an increasingly common practice is to assign these students one-to-one paraprofessionals as a primary support mechanism. Though offered with benevolent intentions, inappropriate reliance on one-to-one…

This study investigated effects of a Direct Instruction reading comprehension program implemented with students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and developmental disabilities (DD). There is little research in the area of reading comprehension for students with ASD and no research as to the effectiveness of reading comprehension Direct…

Purpose: To compile and then validate a set of evidence-based best practices related to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and its role in fostering the inclusion of students with severe disabilities in general education classrooms and other inclusive settings. Method: A comprehensive review of the literature pertaining to AAC and…

Adaptive social skills were assessed longitudinally at approximately ages 2, 3, 5, 9, and 13 years in a sample of 192 children with a clinical diagnosis of autism (n = 93), PDD-NOS (n = 51), or nonspectrum developmental disabilities (n = 46) at age 2. Growth curve analyses with SAS proc mixed were used to analyze social trajectories over time.…

Religious beliefs permeate many aspects of culture. Often, however, educators are reluctant to discuss religious beliefs when working with children with developmental and intellectual disabilities and their families. Ignoring the salience of religious teachings about the nature and meaning of disabilities as they relate to both individuals and…

We examined categorical speech perception in school-age children with developmental dyslexia or Specific Language Impairment (SLI), compared to age-matched and younger controls. Stimuli consisted of synthetic speech tokens in which place of articulation varied from "b" to "d". Children were tested on categorization, categorization in noise, and…

The predictors of student and teacher variables on the access to the general education curriculum of 19 students with intellectual and developmental disabilities were examined based on the observation data collected for a total of 1,140 minutes. Multilevel regression analyses were employed to analyze the data. The findings indicated that both…

Roughly 54 million people with disabilities live in the U.S., and there are many more millions of people with disabilities around the world. Not surprisingly, differences among and between people with disabilities are often as notable as differences between people with and without disabilities. While the lack of homogeneity among people with…

Longitudinal impacts of a consumer-directed support program that provides families with an individualized budget were studied at three points in time over a 9-year period: Time 1 (1991), Time 2 (1995), and Time 3 (2000). At Time 3, families in the program were also compared with families on the waiting list. Over time, families in the program…

This article profiles Laura Pittman, the nation's first credentialed Direct Support Professional (DSP). Laura is a DSP at the Orange Grove Center (OGC) in Chattanooga, Tennessee and has been working there for almost ten years. She has been a DSP for seven of those years, and in that role, supported four women at one of the Orange Grove Center…

At one time or the other, virtually every parent has gone to the doctor concerned about his or her child. Thanks to the advances of modern medicine, the doctor can diagnose the problem most of the time and treat it successfully. Many potential problems, some life-threatening like diphtheria and neural tube defects, can even be prevented altogether…

This paper provides an overview of the literature dealing with the use of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and voice output communication aids (VOCAs) for promoting the performance of requests by students with developmental disabilities. Computerized and manual searches were carried out to identify the studies published during the…

This article is both an ethnographic and an action-based description of how excellent early childhood teachers in seven inclusive preschool and kindergarten classrooms fostered the developing literacy profiles of young children with significant developmental disabilities alongside their typically developing peers through active, engaging, social…

Researchers and clinicians now recognize that adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) evince the full range of mental health concerns. Only recently, however, have attempts been made to develop evidence-based diagnostic and screening methods to identify these problems. Given that the way these people display symptoms of psychopathology may…