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This paper explores the current rates and correlates of turnover among direct support staff working with individuals with developmental disabilities. While the United State Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics collects data on annual separation rates by a variety of industry sectors, there is not a recognized sector for the field of Applied Behavior Analysis. Other data sources similarly do not include Applied Behavior Analysis as its own industry sector, which produces a gap in knowledge. This study uses data obtained from providers of services for individuals with developmental disabilities in a national online survey to obtain rates of turnover for the field of Applied Behavior Analysis. Results indicate a lower rate of turnover than what is reported in the fields of education, and social services in general. The results also indicate that pay rate and amount of supervision offered increase retention while training offered pre and post hire has little correlation to rate of turnover. / Applied Behavioral Analysis

Yes / Mothers of school age and older children with developmental disabilities experience poorer health than mothers of typically developing children. This review assesses the evidence for the effect on mothers' health of caring for young children with developmental disabilities, and the influence of different disability diagnoses and socioeconomic status. Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO and CINAHL were searched. Studies measuring at least one symptom, using a quantitative scale, in mothers of preschool children (0-5 years) with and without a diagnosed developmental disability were selected. Random effects meta-analysis was performed, and predictive intervals reported due to high expected heterogeneity. The meta-analysis included 23 estimates of association from 14 retrospective studies for the outcomes of stress (n = 11), depressive symptoms (n = 9), general health (n = 2) and fatigue (n = 1). Caring for a child with a developmental disability was associated with greater ill health (standardised mean difference 0.87; 95% predictive interval - 0.47, 2.22). The largest association was for mixed developmental disabilities (1.36; - 0.64, 3.36) and smallest for Down syndrome (0.38; - 2.17, 2.92). There was insufficient socioeconomic information to perform subgroup analysis. The small number of studies and data heterogeneity limited the precision of the estimates of association and generalizability of the findings. Mothers of young children with developmental disabilities may have poorer health than those with typically developing children. Research is needed to identify whether the relationship is causal and, if so, interventions that could reduce the negative effect of caregiving. / Sarah Masefeld was supported by a match funded studentship from the University of York and the Health e-Research Centre ref PhD2016PP2.

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Mands, of which requesting and rejecting responses are considered subclasses, are the first emerging communication functions that allow children to express their wants and needs. While typically developing children develop speech without specifically designed intervention, many children with autism and developmental disabilities are likely to rely on prelinguistic communication forms that are socially and developmentally inappropriate or unacceptable until symbolic forms of functional communication are taught. A review of the literature on teaching mands indicates that although there is an abundance of research addressing teaching communicative requesting behaviors, rarely have studies attempted to teach communicative rejecting. The purpose of this study was to create rejecting opportunities using the wrong-item format embedded into the missing item format, and to teach socially appropriate rejecting response using AAC for four children with autism and developmental disabilities. This study employed a multiple probe design across four participants to examine the effectiveness of the procedure. Results indicated that the wrong-item format embedded into the missing-item format was effective in teaching symbolic forms of rejecting responses using VOCAs and PECS. The results were generalized across two untrained activities and were maintained up to four weeks following the termination of generalization probes for three participants. The implications and limitations of this study, as well as potential topics for future research are also discussed. / text

Self-determination is the ability to control one’s life and to actively participate in the decisions which affect the direction of one’s life. This ability is considered a critical life skill for individuals with developmental disabilities. The ability to make choices, plan, and self-evaluate are among the primary skills included in the development of self-determination. Currently, there is very limited emphasis on the importance of self-determination in the literature of communication disorders. This study was designed to determine if a teaching paradigm which incorporates key elements of self-determination is as or more effective and efficient in teaching syntax than a traditional, clinician-directed teaching paradigm for students with developmental disabilities. Two methods of syntax instruction were compared for 4 students with Down syndrome between the ages of 7 and 13 years using an Adapted Alternating Treatment (AAT) single subject design. In the Clinician Directed (CD) condition, the clinician selected the reinforcing activities, scheduled the order of those activities, and provided the students with feed-back on the accuracy of their productions. In the Self-Determined (SD) condition, the students chose the reinforcing activities from 4 possible choices, scheduled the order of activities, and self-evaluated the accuracy of their productions. Results of the study indicated that both the traditional clinician-directed approach (CD)and the self-determined approach (SD) were effective in teaching syntax targets with all 4 students achieving criterion at an unexpectedly rapid rate and maintaining skills regardless of the teaching condition. The CD condition was slightly more efficient than the SD condition in achieving criterion for 3 of the 4 students in the study; however, for 2 of these 3 students, there was a difference of only 1 session between the 2 conditions. In the SD condition the students were required to self-evaluate responses, a key element in the development of self-determination skills. Interestingly, students appeared to learn to self-correct errors slightly sooner in the SD than the CD condition. Further investigation is needed, but a case might be made that including elements of self-determination in syntax training could justify the slight loss of efficiency, and does so without disrupting teaching effectiveness.

Many children with developmental disabilities (DD) have physical impairments and limitations in their participation. Rehabilitation research often focuses on either physical impairments or participation restrictions, when both need to be investigated. The purposes of these two studies were to evaluate an at home therapist directed video game balance training intervention on balance, gait velocity (GV), hip strength and activities of children with DD. The pilot study was a single-subject non-concurrent multiple baseline design. Balance measures included: weight bearing symmetry; center of pressure area and velocity; time to boundary mean minima and standard deviation; and timed up and go. The participant’s enjoyment and perceived difficulty was also explored. Five children (7 to 10 years) with cerebral palsy (CP) participated in a 6 week, 30 minute intervention 3 times per week, with four preselected balance games. Minimal improvements were found in balance, GV, and hip strength, and participants reported the intervention enjoyable and challenging. Three of five participants had significant increases in activities, as measured by the Activities Scale for Kids (ASK). The second study expanded on pilot study results and included 5 children (5 to 10 years) with different diagnoses. Another non-concurrent multiple baseline design was utilized, and the same measures of balance were used except single leg stance time was substituted for timed up and go. No changes were made to the intensity of intervention, but two games were added to the repertoire. There were minimal changes in balance and hip strength; and no changes were found in the ASK. A majority of participants increased GV, and reported the intervention was enjoyable and challenging. Positive changes were found in the combined results for: center of pressure area with eyes open and closed; time to boundary mean minima with eyes closed in the anterior-posterior direction; and GV. These studies suggest this intervention was insufficient to make improvements in the majority of balance measurements and hip strength for children with DD. Increased activities in children with CP were found in the pilot study. These results suggest video game balance training alone for children with DD was insufficient to demonstrate clinically meaningful change. KEYWORDS: Balance, Developmental Disabilities, Gait Velocity, Hip Strength, Activities and Participation

The funtioning of families of children with developmental disabilities has been of interest to researchers for some time. To date, little research has focused on experiences of New Zealand families. The aim of this research is to investigate relationships between various aspects of the family environment and family functioning, and to explore siblings' level of self-concept and satisfaction with the sibling relationship. It is expected that families who receive more support from external levels of the environment will be able to function more effectively in their immediate environment (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Hornby, 1994). Twenty-one parents and nineteen siblings of children with developmental disabilities volunteered to take part in this study. Parent participants completed questionnaires about family demographics, the level of support received from external sources, their perceptions of the family environment, and level of stress related to child characteristics; pessimism and family problems. Sibling participants completed questionnaires about their satisfaction with the relationship with their brother or sister, their self-concept, and their own perceptionso of the family environment. The results indicate that there are a number of relationships between various aspects of the environment and family functioning. Siblings who are more satisfied with their relationship have higher self-concept scores, however the self-concept scores were lower than expected. Families who receive higher levels of support have more positive perceptions of the family enviornment, and families who have more support and more positive views of the environment have few concerns on the resources and stress scale. The results indicated that families consider that they are receiving adequate support from professional services, however support from family and friends appears to be lacking. This study has provided insight into the functioning of New Zealand families who have children with developmental disabilities, and has suggested a number of avenues for future research.