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The area of behavioural phenotype research and related clinical practice is now recognised as one of high relevance to all practitioners who help people with learning disabilities, whatever their age. Knowledge continues to accumulate rapidly regarding aspects pertaining to aetiology, likely developmental, emotional and behavioural challenges, useful multidisciplinary interventions and supports and long‐term prognosis. This paper reviews the concept, its history and recent developments, focusing on those aspects which are of particular importance to clinical and other care and support professionals and their clients. There is a continuing need for widespread dissemination of the large body of relevant information, and its application to practice in order to maximise benefits for people with learning disabilities and their families.

The behavioral phenotype of fragile X syndrome (FXS) and intellectual disability (ID) proposed by Hagerman et al. (2009) was primarily based on data from male children and teens. The purpose of this study was to promote a better understanding of how this condition manifests in adults.

A total of 18 men of FXS were paired with men with Down syndrome on the basis of age and level of ID. A screening checklist was created on the basis of existing scales and the Hagerman et al. (2009) behavioral phenotype and completed by care providers.

Five of the 12 features of the phenotype were significantly more present among men with FXS than in men with Down syndrome.

This study provides partial confirmation for Hagerman et al.’s (2009) behavioral phenotype of FXS among men with moderate ID and identified some traits that warrant further investigation.

This paper seeks to discuss the complexity of the relationship between genotype and phenotype and highlight the importance of a greater understanding of behavioural phenotypes in genetic syndromes. The aim is to explore the developmental trajectory of the behavioural phenotypes as individuals emerge from childhood into adulthood and beyond.

Information was gathered from a search of the relevant literature over the past 20 years using Medline and PsycINFO databases in May 2010 as well as information published in textbooks on this matter.

The outcomes were considered under five areas of functioning: cognition, communication, behaviour, social functioning and propensity to psychiatric illnesses. The research thus far suggests that outcomes in behavioural phenotypes in adults are extremely variable. Individual predictions are difficult to make. However, some trends do emerge.

Findings of particular interest are the rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum conditions and how these change over the developmental trajectory. The paper highlights the need for further research in this area and discusses the need to view behavioural phenotypes as a continuum across the lifespan.

This paper presents the viewpoint of a parent of two children with Fragile X syndrome.

The paper presents the author's views of her and her family's experience of Fragile X syndrome.

The paper provides the author's perspective on the impact that the condition has had on family life.

The paper provides a unique insight into the day-to-day experiences of a parent of two children with Fragile X syndrome.

The management of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) requires a multimodal approach of behavioural, educational and pharmacological treatments. At present, there are no available drugs to treat the core symptoms of ASDs and therefore a wide range of psychotropic medications are used in the management of problems behaviours, co-occurring psychiatric disorders and other associated features. The purpose of this paper is to map the literature on pharmacological treatment in persons with ASD in order to identify those most commonly used, choice criteria, and safety.

A systematic mapping of the recent literature was undertaken on the basis of the following questions: What are the most frequently used psychoactive compounds in ASD? What are the criteria guiding the choice of a specific compound? How effective and safe is every psychoactive drug used in ASD? The literature search was conducted through search engines available on Medline, Medmatrix, NHS Evidence, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library.

Many psychotropic medications have been studied in ASDs, but few have strong evidence to support their use. Most commonly prescribed medications, in order of frequency, are antipsychotics, antidepressants, anticonvulsants and stimulants, many of them without definitive studies guiding their usage. Recent animal studies can be useful models for understanding the common pathogenic pathways leading to ASDs, and have the potential to offer new biologically focused treatment options.

This is a practice review paper applying recent evidence from the literature.

The purpose of this paper is to present the viewpoint of someone with Fragile X syndrome.

The paper presents the author's views and experiences of living with Fragile X syndrome.

The paper provides the author's perspective on diagnosis, the impact on family life, dealing with stigma and the effect that the condition had on school, college, work and interactions with other people.

The paper provides a unique insight into the day-to-day experiences of living with Fragile X syndrome.

This article focuses on the consequences of having FraX‐E, the rare but well recognised variant of fragile X syndrome. The authors provide some background on the condition and report on recent research and evidence. Three case reports are outlined and the specific behavioural aspects of the syndrome are considered. The authors argue that it is important that the behavioural phenotype for FraX‐E is clearly identified and defined in order to give those with the condition relevant psychological and educational support in the future.

People with fragile X syndrome (FXS), a monogenetic disorder with frequent autism spectrum disorder symptoms, are confronted with many health-related needs, especially concerning behavioural and mental problems. The number of publications about health inequalities or the usage of health services in persons with FXS is scarce in general. There is no information about the situation in Germany. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Assessment of health status, access to, and satisfaction with health care in people with fragile X by a questionnaire completed by their parents.

A total of 74 questionnaires were included in the assessment. While children and adolescents with FXS often (40 per cent) utilised specialised services for the coordination of health-related services, adults most often made use of family doctors. Most parents described the health status of their relatives as good to excellent (89 per cent). However, the satisfaction with health care-related demands by family doctors, medical specialists, and psychotherapists was rated in the average to above average range.

This paper is of special value as it gives insight into the perspective of parents concerning access to health care of FXS in Germany.

This paper gives a first insight concerning access of people with FXS to the German health care system.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the relation between quality of life (QoL), mental illness, challenging behaviour and institutionalisation in an adult population with intellectual disabilities (ID).

The study assessed the QoL and its conditioning factors in 142 subjects with different degrees of ID. The GENCAT and Quality of Life in Late Stage Dementia scale were used to evaluate QoL, the Psychiatric Assessment Schedule for Adults with Developmental Disability and Diagnostic Assessment for the Severely Handicapped-II scale to assess mental illness and the Inventory for Client and aetiology Planning scale to assess challenging behaviour.

Individuals who live in residential care homes were found to have significantly impaired QoL (<0.001). Individuals with challenging behaviour presented significantly lower QoL, regardless of ID aethiology and degree, while psychiatric disorders did not seem to have a direct influence on individual QoL.

This paper provides new insight into the importance of challenging behaviour and psychiatric disorders in the QoL of individuals with ID.

Animal spirits in modern economics has a specific meaning; it refers to the restless and inconsistent element in the economy as well as the peculiar relationship people have with ambiguity and uncertainty, which tends to lead to paralysis or incredible confidence and energy in decision‐making and risk taking. Animal spirits have also been used to explain peaceful periods and instability or interpret track records of success and periods of disarray or spectacular failure, high levels of trust and confidence or extreme pessimism and distrust. Willingness to undertake extreme effort or self‐sacrifice to get things done is another expression of animal spirits, which can again go in the opposite direction with people shirking responsibilities, and practicing generalized selfishness or individualism. Such behaviours can have visible effects on the performance of public agencies or civil service agencies, in the behaviour of leaders in the public or private sector, or in the economic performance of a country. Differences across agencies and countries over time can also be explained if one is able to distinguish the effect of animal spirits. Using a logistic model, this paper tests for the existence of “animal spirits” in the capacity development interventions spearheaded by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)‐funded institutions. The analysis and findings highlight, amongst others, the importance of non‐economic factors in shaping the capacity development sphere. Understanding this nature of animal spirits is critical to designing and implementing effective programs for capacity development in Africa. It is particularly important to focus on issues of leadership and leadership development, including the capacity for leaders to instil confidence and piece together stories that motivate people into a common vision of the future or to achieve common objectives.