Prematurity and low birth weight (LBW) are two major biological factors that put infants and young children at high risk for developmental delays or disabilities. While survival rates for premature and LBW children have improved, incidence figures have changed little over the past 20 years; in fact, the incidence of LBW has increased. Although the…

Children and adolescents with disabilities are an extremely heterogeneous group of diverse learners, each with unique learning strengths and needs. Often misunderstood and frequently less served by the counseling profession, these children and adolescents need counseling services just as much as, if not more than, other children. Federal…

While numerous approaches exist to gather information from families having cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds and who have children with developmental disabilities, the use of assistive technology (AT) focus groups holds great promise for professionals. This article provides an overview of a process that can be implemented in school…

The effectiveness of an exercise training program for 52 adults with Down syndrome (M age = 39.4 years) was evaluated. The training program consisted of cardiovascular (30 minutes) and strength exercise (15 minutes) for 12 weeks, 3 days a week for 45-minutes per session. Compared to control subjects, the training group improved significantly in…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether specific language impairment (SLI) and dyslexia are distinct developmental disorders. Method: Study 1 investigated the overlap between SLI identified in kindergarten and dyslexia identified in 2nd, 4th, or 8th grades in a representative sample of 527 children. Study 2 examined…

This review examines later life family support for adults with developmental disabilities from a life course perspective that takes into account social trends and changes in service patterns and in attitudes of families. Key issues addressed include: (1) trends affecting family caregiving, (2) health and social outcomes of life-long caregiving,…

In this article, we review the literature on siblings of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) from a lifespan developmental perspective, from infancy through adulthood, focusing on the sibling relationship and sibling well-being. We situate this review within the larger body of research on siblings of individuals with developmental…

A single subject alternating treatment design was used to compare the relative effectiveness of one-to-one embedded instruction in the general education classroom and one-to-one massed practice instruction in a special education class. Four middle school students with developmental disabilities, their special education teacher, and…

This paper focuses on findings from a qualitative study of care-giving Arab Muslim families of children with developmental disabilities in the United Arab Emirates. The perceptions of mothers in relation to family acceptance and social inclusion issues are explored. Parental views of existing provision are also considered with regard to existing…

Background: Parents with children with developmental disabilities (DD) encounter a variety of stressors associated with rearing their children and must develop effective coping mechanisms in order to adapt successfully to these challenges. Previous research has failed to establish the role of parental individual differences in the reported use of…

A peer support intervention was developed to support aging caregivers and adults with developmental disabilities in planning for the future. The intervention consisted of a legal/financial training session followed by five additional small-group workshops. Pretest and 1-year follow-up surveys were conducted with 29 families participating in the…

The framework of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) was applied to examine the factors associated with childhood impairment and leisure activity. Information on leisure activity was obtained using a structured questionnaire from a population-based cohort of young adults with childhood impairment. The…

Overselective stimulus control was assessed in 29 students at residential schools for individuals with developmental disabilities. Overselectivity testing included three different delayed identity matching-to-sample tasks. Sample stimuli for the Form/Color Test were nine possible combinations of three colors and three forms. On each trial, the S+…

The possible mechanisms involved in continuities and discontinuities in psychopathology between childhood and adult life are considered in relation to the findings from systematic, prospective, long-term longitudinal studies. Findings on schizophrenia, neurodevelopmental disorders, emotional disturbances, antisocial behaviour and substance abuse…

A follow-up study was performed to investigate the stability of IQ measures in a group of dyslexic teenagers and young adults. Earlier research had shown contradictory results. The 65 subjects, 12 years old on the average at first test, were retested after a mean interval of six and a half years. There was a significant relative decrease in…