Introduction: Adults with intellectual disabilities have an increased vulnerability to mental health problems and challenging behaviour. In addition to psychotherapeutic or psychoeducational methods, off-label pharmacotherapy, is a commonly used treatment modality. Objective: The aim of this study was to establish evidence-based guideline…

Natural supports are informal relationships with family, friends, neighbors, and community members that serve as a source of connection and support, and as a safety net. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of natural supports on different areas of quality of life of people with disabilities. Given the theorized importance of natural…

Background: Effects of staff provided positive behaviour support (PBS) for individuals with intellectual disabilities are unclear. Method: Using a multicentre non-randomised cluster controlled design, 26 teams of residential group homes, including 245 staff members of 167 individuals with intellectual disabilities, were allocated to a PBS or…

For decades, researchers and providers of adult-directed early behavioral intervention services have made conceptual arguments linking the receipt of such services to improvements in family and family member quality of life. To date, there has not been a review of the literature to empirically evaluate this claim. Therefore, we conducted a…

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often at greater risk of experiencing stress and lower quality of life, in comparison to parents of typically developing (TD) children and other developmental disabilities. Despite vast literature on parental experiences in Western countries, little is known about this topic in Eastern…

Background: Previous evaluations of community PBS teams have not investigated whether behaviour change is both statistically reliable and clinically significant. Few previous studies have reported quality of life (QoL) and social validity outcomes. Method: The present authors collected data on 85 people referred to a specialist PBS team. The…

Background: Friendship is important to quality of life, yet people with intellectual disability have more restricted social networks and fewer friends outside family and support staff. Method: Data from a nationally representative longitudinal study of older adults with intellectual disability (aged >40) examined rates and types of friends.…

This article evaluates the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary intensive community support service, using positive behavioural support (PBS) as a core intervention model to reduce behaviours of concern and to improve the quality of life and occupational involvement of individuals with a learning disability who present with behaviours that…

A high proportion of adults with intellectual disability (ID) who live in supported accommodation (i.e. group homes) engage in challenging behaviours (CB). A lack of engagement in meaningful activity, social isolation, communication difficulties, and boredom can be triggers for challenging behaviour. There is a small body of literature on…

This article describes a quasi-experimental design study comparing a sample of divorcing parents who attended a divorce education program to a sample of divorcing parents who did not attend a divorce education program. The data were analyzed using four child outcomes (emotional symptoms, conduct problems, peer problems, prosocial behaviors), with…

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are often associated with intellectual disability (ID). ASD-specific group concepts usually focus on people on a high functioning level. The Autism-Competence-Group (AutCom) combines a psycho-educative approach with music and dance/movement interventions in adults with ASD and ID. AutCom includes 16 structured…

Research has shown that autistic adults have poor health outcomes. We conducted a systematic review to identify existing interventions to address health outcomes for autistic adults and to determine whether these interventions address the priorities of the autistic community. We searched PubMed for articles that included an intervention, a primary…

Objective: The current study aimed at examining the correlations between challenging behaviors, difficulties in functioning, and quality of life in institutionalized adults with intellectual disabilities. Methods: A sample of 53 people with intellectual disabilities and challenging behavior who reside d in a large institutional care facility was…

The WHO Quality of Life-Brief questionnaire was used to assess quality of life (QoL) among 52 adults with autism (mean age 49 years) followed-up since childhood. Overall, assessments of QOL were more positive than measures of objective social outcome (jobs, independence, relationships etc.) but correlations between caregiver and self-reports were…

A multiple mediation model was proposed to integrate core concepts of challenging behaviors with autistic traits to increase understanding of their relationship to quality of life (QoL). It was hypothesized that QoL is a possible mediator between the severity of challenging behaviors and autistic traits in adults with intellectual disability.…