The number of direct support professionals (DSPs) needed to support the increasing numbers of adults diagnosed with autism within the United States continues to grow exponentially. DSPs receive minimal training and often fail to generalize the training they have received, which can directly lead to poor learning outcomes for the adults they serve.…

Direct support professionals (DSPs) provide integral support to many individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Yet, individuals' access to qualified DSPs is often compromised as organizations struggle to hire and retain DSPs. Despite a vast body of research exploring factors associated with turnover, adverse childhood…

The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and use of dietary supplement products (DSP) among the deaf athletes of the Turkish Deaf Sports Federation. A total 74 voluntary athletes from various sports, 11 female and 63 male athletes (M[subscript age] = 23.62 ± 5.38 years) participated in this study. The data was collected through the…

This study incorporated a modified gap analysis to evaluate a health and human service agency in developing qualified workers. Specifically, the purpose of the study was to evaluate the degree to which the agency prepared direct care workers to meet state required proficiency on Virginia's DSP Competencies Evaluation tool, Section One…

Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) are the "backbone" of long term services and supports (LTSS) in the United States (Bogenschutz, Hewitt, Nord, & Hepperlen, 2014, p. 317). This study examined the relationship between DSPs and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities' (IDD) quality of life. To do so, we utilized…

Direct support professionals (DSPs) play a large social role in the lives of people with developmental disabilities (DD) and have the potential to influence their health behaviors. Six qualitative focus groups (n = 48) were conducted with DD community agency administrators, DSPs, family members and adults with DD to better understand the perceived…

Background: Peers living in the same group form important interaction partners for people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD). Given the severity of their disabilities, direct support persons (DSPs) play a significant role in facilitating interactions between these peers. This study explores the spontaneous interactions…

There is a current and growing need for evidence-based practices aimed at improving the social skills of adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). Despite an abundance of research on strategies to improve the social skills of young children with ID, there is limited research on interventions aimed at improving prosocial behaviors of adults with…

Purpose: People with Down syndrome (DS) have a unique medical profile which may impact views of health. We aimed to explore the use of global health measures in DS. Methods: Prospective survey in the Mass General Hospital Down Syndrome Program (MGH DSP) from December 2018 to July 2019 with Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System…

The California Community Colleges served 2.1 million students in 2015-16 and 2.1 million students in 2016-17. It is the largest system of higher education in the nation. Each of the 115 colleges in all 73 districts use state funding allocated for Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSPS) to assist in providing support services and educational…

Assembly Bill (AB) 705 transformed California community colleges by placing all students into transfer-level mathematics, including students with learning disabilities (SWLD). This multimethod study of one community college district explores the impact of AB 705 on SWLD. The sequential multimethod design includes three phases: 1) document…

School principals play an instrumental role in the day-to-day running of schools, and their roles become more critical at times of education reform. The Saudi Ministry of Education (MoE) has been working towards a more decentralized system, whereby school principals have more autonomy. Under the Development Project (Tatweer) launched in 2007,…

The need for science communication programs is matched with the need for program evaluation. This case study is an evaluation of the "Decoding Science" program (DSP) [Rodgers et al. (2018). "Science Communication," 40(1), 3-32], a science communication training program, and examines key experiential-learning themes [Kolb, D. A.…

Through the lenses of comparative adult education and international educational leadership development, this study explores the learning experiences of local school principals after they participated in a professional development program named "Domestic Study Program" (DSP) in Beijing. A qualitative narrative inquiry was applied and four…

The objective of this study was to assess the correlation of the Per3 gene VNTR polymorphism to insomnia patients in Bermuda. Buccal swabs were taken, and DNA was extracted, after which the genotypes of volunteers were characterised by using polymerase chain reaction. There were 25 total volunteers (21 females, 4 males, aged 20-79) that…