Developmental Co-ordination Disorder (DCD), also known as Dyspraxia in the United Kingdom (U.K.), is a developmental disorder affecting motor co-ordination. In the past this was regarded as a childhood disorder, however there is increasing evidence that a significant number of children will continue to have persistent difficulties into adulthood.…

Background: Child and parent characteristics as well as socioeconomic family variables can influence the quality of parent-child interactions. Methods: Coders rated parent behaviour from a video-taped 30-min family interaction in 91 families rearing children who were either typically developing or had intellectual/developmental disabilities. In…

Translational research inspired by behavioral momentum theory in the area of developmental disabilities has shown effects in individuals over a range of functioning levels. In the current study, behavioral momentum was assessed in 6 children diagnosed with autism and severe intellectual disability. In a repeated measures design, participants were…

Analogue functional analyses are widely used to identify the operant function of problem behavior in individuals with developmental disabilities. Because problem behavior often occurs across multiple settings (e.g., homes, schools, outpatient clinics), it is important to determine whether the results of functional analyses vary across settings.…

Background: Exploring the life stories of leaders in the self-advocacy movement can expand our knowledge about leadership development of individuals with developmental disabilities. A better understanding of this process may assist with supporting the movement and leadership development of youth with disabilities. Methods: In-depth qualitative…

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) are two developmental disorders with considerable comorbidity. The impact of Methylphenidate (MPH) on ADHD symptoms is well documented. However, the effects of MPH on motor coordination are less studied. We assessed the influence of MPH on motor performance…

The purpose of this study was twofold. The first purpose was to determine if a mother with mild developmental disabilities living in poverty was able to implement Prelinguistic Milieu Teaching (PMT) strategies. The strategies included following the child's lead, arranging the environment to increase opportunities for communication, imitating the…

Grip selection tasks have been used to test "planning" in both autism and developmental coordination disorder (DCD). We differentiate between "motor" and "executive" planning and present a modified motor planning task. Participants grasped a cylinder in 1 of 2 orientations before turning it clockwise or anticlockwise.…

Sleep problems have often been reported in children with intellectual disabilities (ID). How anomalies in 24-h sleep patterns relate to behaviour difficulties in children with different types of ID remains to be elucidated. The purpose of this study was to assess 24-h sleep and behaviour patterns in children with a variety disorders including…

The aim of this project was to develop and validate a Service Needs Questionnaire (SNQ) on the service needs of families with children with developmental disabilities. The SNQ and a measure of parenting stress were administered to 105 parents of children diagnosed with learning/behaviour problems and 233 parents of children attending primary…

This article describes Sarah, a young woman with autism from Frederick, Maryland, who made a choice to forgo traditional employment options for people with disabilities and to pursue the seemingly improbable option of becoming an author. Becoming a successful writer can be a dubious prospect for people without disabilities. And yet with talent,…

We evaluated behavior exhibited by individuals with developmental disabilities using progressive-ratio (PR) schedules. High- and low-preference stimuli were determined based on the results of a paired-stimulus preference assessment and were evaluated in subsequent reinforcer and PR assessments using concurrent and single schedules of presentation.…

A review and extension of previous conceptualizations of treatment acceptability is provided in light of progress within the area of behavior treatment development and implementation. Factors including legislation, advances in research, and service delivery models are examined as to their relationship with a comprehensive conceptualization of…

Functional analysis (FA) methodology is the most precise method for identifying variables that maintain problem behavior. Occasionally, however, results of an FA may be influenced by idiosyncratic sensitivity to aspects of the assessment conditions. For example, data from several studies suggest that inclusion of a tangible condition during an FA…

We treated a child with intestinal failure who consumed solids on a spoon but not liquids from a cup. We used spoon-to-cup fading, which consisted of taping a spoon to a cup and then gradually moving the bowl of the spoon closer to the edge of the cup. Spoon-to-cup fading was effective for increasing consumption of liquids from a cup. (Contains 2…