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In this paper, the authors summarize the empirical and theoretical gaps in understanding of police contact with individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities at the individual, interactional, organizational and systems level and introduce the special issue papers which address these gaps. The authors close with a discussion of future directions for research in this area.

The authors’ objective in producing this issue was to create a platform to generate and facilitate research in this area. The authors chose papers that represented research that could “move the needle” around the understanding of policing and intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.

The papers in this special issue reflect four thematic areas: (1) the nature of interactions between the police and individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities; (2) police interactions about individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities with criminal justice systems, social services and mental health services, (3) experiences of the police when encountering individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities and finally, (4) the experiences within police encounters of individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.

Research on intellectual and/or developmental disabilities is still in its infancy, particularly within the field of criminology and criminal justice. This special issue brings together innovative international research that adds critical information surrounding the nature of interactions between the police and individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, the experience for both parties during that interaction and the context of these interactions in the larger organizational ecosystem of criminal justice organizations and social service agencies.

The debate as to whether intellectual disability (ID) should be conceptualized as a health condition or as a disability has intensified as the revision of World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is being finalized. Defining ID as a health condition is central to retaining it in ICD, with significant implications for health policy and access to health services. The purpose of this paper is to include some reflections on the consensus document produced by the first WHO Working Group on the Classification of MR (WHO WG-MR) and on the process that was followed to realize it. The consensus report was the basis for the development of official recommendations sent to the WHO Advisory Group for ICD-11.

A mixed qualitative approach was followed in a series of meetings leading to the final consensus report submitted to the WHO Advisory group. These recommendations combined prior expert knowledge with available evidence; a nominal approach was followed throughout with face-to-face conferences.

The WG recommended a synonym set (“synset”) ontological approach to the conceptualisation of this health condition underlying a clinical rationale for its diagnosis. It proposed replacing MR with Intellectual Developmental Disorders (IDD) in ICD-11, defined as “a group of developmental conditions characterized by a significant impairment of cognitive functions, which are associated with limitations of learning, adaptive behaviour and skills”. The WG further advised that IDD be included under the parent category of neurodevelopmental disorders, that current distinctions (mild, moderate, severe and profound) be continued as severity qualifiers, and that problem behaviours removed from its core classification structure and instead described as associated features.

Within the ID/IDD synset two different names combine distinct aspects under a single construct that describes its clinical as well as social, educational and policy utilities. The single construct incorporates IDD as a clinical meta-syndrome, and ID as its functioning and disability counterpart. IDD and ID are not synonymous or mirror concepts as they have different scientific, social and policy applications. New diagnostic criteria for IDD should be based on a developmental approach, which accounts for the complex causal factors known to impact the acquisition of specific cognitive abilities and adaptive behaviours. The paper focuses on a new clinical framework for the diagnosis of IDD that also includes and complements the existing social, educational and policy components inherent in ID.

In this chapter, my aim is to describe and analyse conceptually and provide direction for the identification, selection and use of assistive technologies (ATs) to support the education and development of young children with disabilities. The chapter discusses the quality of early intervention practices and the pragmatic role of ATs in delivering effective early intervention impacts. In making this case, the chapter draws upon Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory to illuminate how ATs can be selected and used effectively in schools to enable all young children to thrive in their learning and development in inclusive classrooms.

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 life expectancy for persons with intellectual disabilities (ID) has increased significantly, resulting in an increasing number of aging persons with ID. To promote healthy and active aging of persons with ID, discussions on new initiatives to design age-friendly communities have begun at local and international levels. The purpose of this paper, a qualitative research study, is to identify features of an age-friendly community, and facilitators and barriers from the perspectives of older adults with mild ID and their caregivers who live in the city of Winnipeg in Canada.

Seven older persons with mild ID were interviewed, and 15 caregivers participated in focus group discussions. All participants were asked questions about features of community living and their experiences in eight broad topic areas (i.e. transportation, housing, social participation, respect and social inclusion, opportunities for community involvement, communication and information, community support and healthcare services, and outdoor spaces and buildings).

The results indicated that many of the current features of the city of Winnipeg do not adequately address the needs of aging persons with ID; specifically, participants revealed that issues related to accessibility, social participation, social disrespect and inclusion, and lack of resources were important barriers to independence.

The findings will increase awareness of the needs of aging persons with ID and inform programme planning, service delivery, coordination of community-based services and policies to support healthy and active aging for this vulnerable population.

Purpose – The goal of this chapter was to empirically describe the patterns and dimensions of community interaction of typically underserved families of children with autism and other developmental disabilities within a family quality of life (FQoL) context.

Methodology – We utilized the theoretical framework of FQoL to examine the community interactions of 149 families who voluntarily participated in this study. The Family Quality of Life Survey (FQoLS-2006) was used to collect data from the primary caregivers of the children with the disability, 92% of which were mothers. We conducted an in-depth examination of the six dimensions (importance, opportunities, initiative, attainment, stability, and satisfaction) of community interaction.

Findings – Most families viewed community interaction as very important to their FQoL and the majority (62%) were satisfied with their community interaction, although just over a third reported high attainment, and only 48% reported having adequate opportunities for community interaction. Families of children with autism reported lower attainment of community interaction when compared to families of children with other developmental disabilities (t=2.63, df=147, p=0.01). Some race-related and child-related differences were also observed in the initiative taken to pursue community interaction and discrimination experienced by families.

Limitations – Results must be interpreted with caution, as the participants in this study were all volunteers and the majority were mothers, and therefore may not be representative of all families of children with disabilities. Despite the limitations, findings from this study are a first step in understanding the multidimensional nature of community interaction of low-income, minority families.

This chapter sought to answer the following questions: (a) what does special education means for students with intellectual disability?, (b) what is being done, and (c) how do we maintain tradition? The answers, while complicated, suggest special education for students with intellectual disability historically and currently involves attention to what, how, and where, with the how being the key elements of special education for students with intellectual disability. This chapter discussed the what, how, and where for students with intellectual disability in a historical and current framework while also providing evidence-based practices for students with intellectual disability to implement to maintain the tradition of high-quality services.

India has one of the more progressive disability frameworks in the developing world which tends to adopt western philosophies and principles (e.g. parent participation and advocacy) which to some degree mirrors the type of service delivery in the UK. The purpose of this paper is to adopt a cross-cultural perspective to explore caregiving amongst parents caring for a child with intellectual/developmental disabilities in India.

Three focus groups were used to interview parents at Action for Autism (AFA) located in Delhi, India. The focus groups explored how disability is encountered within an Indian context.

Two main themes were identified in the parents narratives which were “making the decision to get help” and “seeing disabilities in from a new perspective”. Family members played an important role in the decision to get help and acted as a platform for mothers to explore their own concerns. Seeing disability from a new perspective was a four stage process which included initially accepting the diagnosis and their child; regaining control through parenting skills training; witnessing positive changes in their children and themselves and reaping personal benefits as a result of their involvement with AFA.

The research is very small scale and focused on parents in a specific organisation, as a consequence the results cannot be generalised.

The discourses of these individuals do provide a useful insight into the provision of services to children in India and provide a starting point for cross-cultural understanding of parenting children with disabilities.

Children with developmental disabilities (e.g. learning disability and autism) often struggle with handwriting skills. This study aims to implement an adapted handwriting programme for children with developmental disabilities to improve their handwriting skills.

Six children with developmental disabilities aged 9–15 years received an adapted Handwriting Without Tears® (HWT) programme in small groups over eight weeks. The programme was delivered by typical teaching staff (i.e. paraprofessionals) at a special education school following a brief training session and with ongoing supervision. A range of measures assessed the children’s handwriting and related skills. Social validity interviews were conducted with school staff following the intervention to evaluate the programme’s acceptability.

Typical teaching staff implemented the handwriting programme with 92.3% average fidelity and delivered a minimum of three sessions per week. Social validity interviews demonstrated the acceptability of the intervention to school staff. After eight weeks of intervention, all children improved their handwriting on various assessments. Improvements were only partially maintained at follow-up.

This study supports the feasibility of using an adapted HWT programme to teach handwriting to children with developmental disabilities in special education settings. Typical teaching staff can be trained to support the delivery of the programme to children in small groups.