Autonomous functioning, an essential characteristic of self-determined people, has been categorized behaviorally according to everyday activities in Self & Family Care (SFC), Life Management (LM), Recreation/Leisure (RL), and Social/Vocational (SV) skills. The effectiveness of a short-term (8-10 weeks) educational residential program to…

Studies on the distinction between Autistic Disorder (AD) and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) have been inconclusive. This study examined the validity of PDD-NOS by comparing it to AD and other developmental disorders (DD) on parent-reported behavior problems. Fifty-four children with PDD-NOS were individually…

Behavioral insomnias of childhood (BIC) and sleep disordered breathing (SDB) disorders cause disrupted and/or inefficient sleep. Left untreated in early childhood, both conditions increase the risk of compromised development, particularly in the areas of behavior, cognition, and growth. This systematic review determined whether and how current…

The relationship of selected demographic, socioeconomic status (SES), and psychological characteristics was examined in interviews with 176 Northern Plains American Indian mothers whose children were referred to diagnostic clinics for evaluation of developmental disabilities, including fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Thirty-nine mothers…

Education is expanding to include a stronger focus on the practical application of classroom lessons in an effort to prepare the next generation of scholars for a changing world economy centered on collaborative and problem-solving skills for the digital age. "The Handbook of Research on Technology Tools for Real-World Skill Development"…

The psychological well-being of fathers of children with developmental disabilities remains poorly understood. The present study examined depressive symptoms, pessimism, and coping in fathers of adolescents and young adults with Down syndrome (DS;n = 59), autism spectrum disorders (ASDs;n = 135), and Fragile X syndrome (n = 46). Fathers of sons or…

This article focuses on a state-based initiative to engage youth with intellectual disabilities (ID), their families, universities, schools, agencies, and funders in improving access to inclusive postsecondary education (PSE). As opportunities in higher education for students with ID continue to increase across United States, there are differing…

Aim: Many mothers of children with developmental disabilities are known to experience high levels of stress, and compromised mental health. Research is crucial to better understand and assist mothers with compromised mental health, and ultimately better service families raising and supporting a child with a disability. Method: Data were collected…

Early interventions with the goal of altering the trajectory of social skill acquisition are needed in order to establish social competence in young children with developmental disabilities. This study used a unique play-based intervention (the Early Childhood Storybook Intervention) to teach social skills to young children with developmental…

We manipulated relative reinforcement for problem behavior and appropriate behavior using differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) without an extinction component. Seven children with developmental disabilities participated. We manipulated duration (Experiment 1), quality (Experiment 2), delay (Experiment 3), or a combination of…

This study explored the extent to which mothers experienced depressive symptoms associated with having a child with a disability and if journal writing would reduce maternal distress. Thirty-eight Korean-American mothers of children with disabilities filled out pretest data using CES-D (Radloff, 1977) and IES-R (Weiss & Marmar, 1997). Based on…

Families and individuals with developmental disabilities are leading the way in establishing innovative housing options. They are creating homes with supportive services more tailored to specific individual needs. They are developing homes with physical environments that feel more like home, or are more therapeutic. And they are taking steps…

For people living with or caring for someone with a disability, being able to talk to someone who can relate to their feelings of frustration during difficult times, offer practical advice on an issue, or even understand the importance of a small success, can make a difference. Support groups are a mainstay for individuals coping with daily…

This critical, qualitative study considers issues of access to the academic and social experiences of middle school for five students with labels of intellectual disability and autism through a lens of ableism and enforced "normalcy". Starting from the position that schools are sites where ableist norms of performance leave many marginalized, this…

Different moderators/mediators of risk are involved in developmental dyslexia (DD), but data are inconsistent. We explored the prevalence of season of birth and its association with gender and age of school entry in an Italian sample of dyslexic children compared to an Italian normal control group. The clinical sample included 498 children (345…