Background: The concept of family quality of life is becoming increasingly important in family support programmes. This concept describes the quality of life of all family members and the family system as a whole, but only the opinion of the parents has been included. The opinion of the siblings has been incorporated in the opinions of the…

Background: While there is a growing body of literature in the quality of life of families that include children with disabilities, the majority of research has been conducted in western countries. The present study provides an initial exploration of the quality of life of Malaysian families that include children with developmental/intellectual…

Background: Present day service systems evolved from the traditional model of disability intervention where the child with the disability and the family were viewed as pathological entities that needed to be fixed rather than supported. Scholars have increasingly called for a greater focus on the family in service delivery, but few studies have…

Background: Family quality of life (FQOL) is a recent concept in intellectual/developmental disability research. Outcomes for the family are important to the provision of services because families, rather than institutions, are increasingly considered the primary support unit. This article presents Australian findings using the international…

Background: The limited literature that exists about intellectual disabilities (ID) in Nigeria suggests that perceptions of ID may be shaped by social and cultural beliefs, and that socio-economic factors have prevented the development of policy and services. The present study sought to explore these suggestions in more detail by administering the…

Background: The concepts of quality of life and family quality of life (FQOL) are increasingly being studied in the field of intellectual disabilities (ID) in China as important frameworks for: (1) assessing families' need for supports and services; (2) guiding organisational and service delivery system changes; and (3) evaluating quality family…

Historically, intervention programmes in intellectual and developmental disabilities have targeted the individual's special needs independent of the family and environmental context. This trend has been changing over the past two decades. This paper presents a literature review on changing trends in family support and the development of family…

Background: Caring for a child with a disability can be a unique and challenging experience, with families often relying on informal networks for support. Often, grandparents are key support resources, yet little is known about their roles and experiences. Reporting on data collected in a larger Australian study, this article explores…

Background: Although the Family Quality of Life Survey--2006 (FQOLS-2006) is being used in research, there is little evidence to support its hypothesised domain structure. The purpose of this study was to test the domain structure of the survey using confirmatory factor analysis. Method: Samples from Australia, Canada, Nigeria and the USA were…

Background: Applied behaviour analysis (ABA) reduces challenging behaviour in people with intellectual disability. There is interest, however, in whether such interventions reduce carer burden and increase community participation in this group. Methods: A 6-month randomised controlled trial was followed by a longer-term naturalistic follow-up of…

Background: Some studies have found higher rates of childhood sexual abuse in sex offenders while others have failed to find such relationships. Method: This study reviews the sexual and physical abuse histories of 156 male sex offenders with intellectual disability (ID), 126 non-sexual male offenders with ID and 27 female offenders with ID.…

Background: The present study examined the effectiveness of three staff training elements: psychoeducation (PE) on autism, introduction of functional behavioural analysis (FBA) and emotional management (EM), on the reaction of challenging behaviours for frontline staff towards children with autism in Hong Kong special education settings. Methods:…

Background: Previous studies have reported variable and at times opposite findings on comorbid psychiatric problems in children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). Aims: This study aimed to examine patterns of comorbid psychiatric problems in children with ASD and their parents compared with IQ matched controls and their parents. Methods:…

Background: Begun in the late 1990s, mental health courts are specialty criminal courts developed to address the needs of persons with mental illness. Methods: As many persons with intellectual disabilities (IDs) may overlap in the mental health court system, we used mental health court records to examine the phenomenology and outcomes of 224…

Background: While behavioural abnormalities are fundamental features of Rett syndrome (RTT), few studies have examined the RTT behavioural phenotype. Most of these reports have focused on autistic features, linked to the early regressive phase of the disorder, and few studies have applied standardised behavioural measures. We used a battery of…