Research in the field of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) focuses mainly on school-aged children and male participants. This has left substantial gaps in our understanding of the life course of autistic individuals, particularly autistic females, once they reach adulthood. The objective of this concise narrative review is to discuss the current…

Here, intelligence is taken to mean scores from psychometric tests of cognitive functions. This essay describes how cognitive tests offer assessments of brain functioning--an otherwise difficult-to-assess organ--that have proved enduringly useful in the field of health and medicine. The two "consequential world problems" (the phrase used…

This book is intended to give support providers the understanding, knowledge, and skills for providing transition and employment services in school, employment, community, and residential settings and thereby improve the quality of life for the individuals that they support. It not only shows how to support an individual with a disability but also…

The 2016-2017 "Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) Strategic Plan" is organized around seven general topic areas that are represented in the Plan as community-focused questions (e.g., Question 1, "How can I recognize the signs of ASD, and why is early detection so important?," which covers the topic of screening…

This "2018-2019 Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) Strategic Plan Update" is the work of the IACC membership that was appointed under the Autism CARES Act of 2014. The Committee agreed that the "2016-2017 IACC Strategic Plan" reflected a comprehensive review of the state of the field and provided a set of 23 new…

Utah State University Cooperative Extension programming, provided through the historic land-grant system, is one method used to meet the needs of residents located in rural communities. Residents in a Central Utah county need Cooperative Extension programs to address the health and wellness of their rural community. According to the Utah…

People commonly expect to stay active well into their 80s, and while it may be hard to believe, people over 100 make up the fastest growing segment of the population. Thankfully, these impressive increases in longevity have also benefited people with developmental disabilities (DD), most of whom can now expect to live just as long as their…

Relatively little is known about the health and fitness of adults with visual impairments. This article documents the physical activity levels and body-composition profiles of young and middle-aged adults with visual impairments and addresses the concomitant effects of these factors on perceived quality of life. (Contains 2 tables.)

Our focus in this paper is on efforts to include persons with developmental disabilities in faith communities. We provide a review of the relevant literature on religious participation and faith communities for persons with disabilities and blend the limited data available on these topics with the perspectives of individuals whose efforts focus on…

Illustrates incremental item banking using health-related quality of life data collected from two samples of patients receiving cancer treatment (n=1,755 and n=1,544). Results support findings from previous studies that have equated separate instruments by co-calibrating their items. (SLD)

While there is extensive evidence on the overall benefits of deinstitutionalisation, the move from institutional care to providing accommodation and support in small to medium sized dispersed housing schemes has not gone uncontested. Recently, a number of commentators have argued for the development of cluster housing on the basis that it may…

As mentally retarded adults have become more independent as a result of governmental policy directives and vocational training, the need for social work services has increased. Examines the effect of improved vocational training and independent living on the lives of mentally retarded adults and provides recommendations to improve social work and…

Individuals have increasingly recognized the role that guidance for learning and work can play in encouraging adults to achieve their educational and personal goals. This pack of materials was designed to help those who offer guidance to adults and take a pro-active approach to developing quality assurance. These seven booklets are intended for…

Despite the transition requirements of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and a growing body of research in support of effective transition planning for learners with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), many adults on the spectrum remain without employment in large numbers. Even for those generally regarded as most capable, they…

This account of the life of a mentally retarded man describes his early institutionalized years, his failure to retain employment, and the impact of uncontrolled diabetes on his health. The man's death is attributed to his societal devaluation and to failure of the human services field to engage in "life-sharing." (JDD)