The present study evaluated a technique for teaching self-control and increasing desirable behaviors among adults with developmental disabilities. Results showed that when participants were initially given the choice between an immediate smaller reinforcer and a larger delayed reinforcer, all participants repeatedly chose the smaller reinforcer. Concurrent fixed-duration/progressive-duration re...

Choices were presented to 9 individuals with developmental disabilities using a two-choice format. Each pair of items, selected based on prior preference assessment, was presented to each participant in three conditions (actual items, pictures of the items, and spoken-name presentation) using a reversal design. The evaluation was conducted using food items, and was then repeated using nonfood i...

Recent prospective studies indicate that schizophrenia manifests itself in behavioural abnormalities much earlier than was previously thought, supporting the view that schizophrenia is a developmental disorder.

Although a large body of literature exists supporting the relationship between positive parenting and child outcomes for typically developing children, there are reasons to analyze separately the relevant literature specific to children with developmental disabilities. However, that literature has not been synthesized in any systematic review. This study examined the association between positiv...

Interpersonal connections, friendships, and belonging play important roles in a person's emotional and physical well-being. However, recent studies reveal that persons with developmental disabilities often live with few connections and friendships within unwelcoming communities. Through this qualitative study, we enter this relatively unexplored area of friendships between persons with and with...

BACKGROUND Recent evidence suggests that fostering strategies to enable youth with chronic health conditions to work towards gradual self-management of their health is key in successful transition to adult healthcare. To date, there is limited research on self-management promotion for youth. The purpose of this study is to explore self-management from the perspectives of youth, parents and heal...

In this paper we describe our design and prototype of a full-body, collocated, cooperative digital painting game for two players we call “WePaint”. Our goal for the WePaint system is to offer an engaging, low-pressure environment in which children with developmental disorders, such as those on the autism spectrum, can reinforce the social skill of cooperation. We describe an observational study...

The task used most widely to assess recognition of false belief in self and others is the 'Smarties' unexpected contents task. Amongst individuals with and without autism, the Self and Other-person test questions of this task are of an equivalent level of difficulty. However, a potential confound with this task may allow the Self test question to be passed without false belief competence. Three...

We investigated the effects of video modeling on the percentage of correctly implemented problem-solving steps by staff in a group home for adults with developmental disabilities, using a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across participants. The treatment consisted of staff watching a video model demonstrating the correct implementation of a problem-solving intervention (i.e., teaching cl...

This study examines whether parents of children with developmental disorders are at risk of elevated allostatic load relative to control parents and whether positive affect moderates difference in risk. In all, 38 parents of children with developmental disorders and 38 matched comparison parents were analyzed. Regression analyses revealed a significant interaction between parent status and posi...