Nature has the ability to heal many psychological wounds from anxiety and depression, stress, post traumatic stress disorder, and behavioral concerns. As a result, clinicians are recognizing the power of nature as a tool in the healing process. The purpose of this dissertation, which consists of one completed systematic review and a multiple probe…

Audio-visual recording and location tracking produce enormous quantities of digital data with which researchers can document children's everyday interactions in naturalistic settings and assessment contexts. Machine learning and other computational approaches can produce replicable, automated measurements of these big behavioral data. The…

This dissertation in practice documents the program evaluation of the Community Scholars (CS) program at the Florida Center for Inclusive Communities (FCIC), a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) at the University of South Florida (USF). CS is part of a diversity pipeline program that recruits youth with…

A service-learning pilot project involving occupational therapy (OT) students and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is described. The purpose of this pilot project, developed using Transformative Learning Theory, was to determine if service-learning could be a viable approach to provide in-depth learning in areas…

Sleep problems are prevalent in children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and are associated with the expression of restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs). Children (n = 57) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n = 38) or developmental delay (DD, n = 19) participated in multiple assessments of intellectual ability, ASD symptoms, and RRBs (3…

Purpose: Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) experience difficulties with an important Theory of Mind milestone, namely, false belief (FB) reasoning. Their FB success relates to mastery of a linguistic structure that is also challenging for them, namely, sentential complements (e.g., "Claire says/thinks [that Santa Claus…

Parents are often responsible for educating their child about sexuality and relationships, yet many parents may not be aware of the sexuality-related topics to teach. Sexuality education is critical for children with autism and intellectual disabilities, who are often vulnerable to sexual abuse and other sexual behavior outcomes. Families teaching…

Lag reinforcement schedules have been shown in previous research to be an effective intervention for teaching verbal and nonverbal response variability to individuals with developmental disabilities. In more recent research, variability itself has been considered a reinforceable behavior in its own right (Susa & Schlinger, The Analysis of…

A better understanding of the factors associated with depression and anxiety in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is needed to provide guidelines for service providers, clinicians, and researchers as well as to improve the diagnostic process. The current study used a longitudinal dataset to explore demographic, health,…

Dysphagia is common in individuals with developmental disabilities. Little research exists on the impact of trainings aimed at improving Direct Care Staff's (DCS) use of safe eating and drinking practices. This article presents two studies using pre-and postexperimental design, evaluating online training to improve DCSs' knowledge and ability to…

Australian legislation requires teachers to make reasonable adjustments for students with disability, including those with Developmental Language Disorder. The Standards underpinning this legislation stipulate that students must be "consulted" about adjustments that are made. This is not common practice in Australian schools and there is…

This practical guide for teaching numeracy to children with a developmental disability is based on core concepts from the landmark Mathematics Recovery® text Teaching Number (aka 'the green book') that have been adapted for children with developmental disabilities. It sets out key principles of teaching and learning underpinning an evidence-based…

We examined undergraduate students' perceptions of peers with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) before and after participating in an inclusive book club on the college campus. Over a six-week period, undergraduate students and students with I/DD enrolled in the post-secondary education program at the university engaged in an…

In the last decade, international efforts have been focused on public engagement, to foster public involvement in the affairs and decisions of policy-makers and scientists, in order to open a mutual sharing of knowledge, values and beliefs. Our study describes a pilot experience of public engagement in a fringe field of biomedical research which…

Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) frequently engage in escape-maintained problem behavior, which can limit their access to academic instruction and lead to placement in more restrictive educational settings. While there are function-based interventions to treat escape-maintained problem behavior, these interventions…