People with intellectual disabilities who come into contact with the criminal legal system can experience violence, neglect and dehumanisation. This article, informed by a scoping literature review and supplemented by critical disability, criminology, and abolitionist scholarship, examines the structural, systemic, and individual harms experienced by people with intellectual disabilities within the criminal legal system. Rather than focusing on reform within the criminal legal system, the article advocates for investment in community-led, rights-affirming alternatives for this group. Community approaches offer more just and effective responses, aiming to remove vulnerable people from harmful systems and redirect resources toward inclusive, preventative care.
This study examined changes in social relationships among adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities receiving home-based support. Using a multiple case study and participant-driven photo-elicitation, seven people documented shifts in their social networks over six months. Four categories of change emerged: loss of contact, meeting new people, strengthening ties, and unsuccessful attempts to connect. These changes were shaped by emotional experiences, contextual factors (e.g., transport, living environment, COVID-19), and others' actions. While intentional efforts such as joining activities or using dating platforms sometimes led to new connections, chance events and environmental shifts often played a greater role. The findings highlight the agency of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and underscore the importance of inclusive, supportive environments. Personal relationships appear to be a dynamic process influenced by personal, relational, and structural factors. The study also demonstrates the value of photo-elicitation in amplifying the voices of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Systematic Instruction is a critical training methodology that staff supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities should be proficient in implementing. Through the application of Systematic Instruction, staff can facilitate skill acquisition across a wide range of areas, enabling people with disabilities to develop essential competencies in home, work, and educational settings. This article provides an in-depth exploration of the original principles and instructional design elements underlying Systematic Instruction, at a time when many original documents are no longer readily available. Additionally, contemporary applications of this methodology are explored, demonstrating Systematic Instruction's enduring relevance and effectiveness more than 50 years after its development.
This article sheds light on a critical policy and practice issue facing Australian registered nurses and Australians with intellectual disabilities and complex health care and support needs. In Australia, there has been a process of so-called delegation of intensive support provided by registered nurses in community contexts for people with intellectual disabilities and/or autism to unlicensed health and social care workers. The nature of unlicenced health and social care work in Australia is critiqued. Additionally, key case studies, policy events, and the current state of the disability workforce and its influence on negative health and safety outcomes for people with disabilities are discussed. Very little is known about the outcomes from the delegation of nursing care and support to unlicenced disability workers, yet this is being implemented with some of the most vulnerable Australians. The outcome of this situation has contributed to poor outcomes for people with disabilities. A revision and clearer articulation of nursing in national disability policy is urgently required.
The creation of Easy Read documents has proliferated across countries seeking compliance with the right of people with disabilities to access written information. Easy Read documents are those written using accessible vocabulary and language, and format and presentation. Easy Read guidelines include numerous recommendations, despite contested underlying evidence. The aim of this study was to review research from 2015 to 2025 to determine its scope and empirical support. A systematic search of eight databases was conducted using terms for "easy read," "easy to read," "accessible written information" and "intellectual disabilities." Included were peer reviewed studies that presented quantitative or qualitative data, and evaluated Easy Read in written or printed form. Forward citations of two previous reviews were conducted. Following screening of 144 studies, 18 were included for extraction. Most were from the United Kingdom. Findings from across studies were that some addressed predictors of effectiveness, but many excluded participants with more than moderate intellectual disabilities; few provided relevant participant information. Outcome measures from quantitative studies varied, providing limited support for Easy Read document creation, especially accompanying text with images. Further, user groups differed in the value placed on Easy Read and its many features. As with earlier reviews, comparison across studies was precluded because of the varied nature of research, which provided very limited support for Easy Read overall and none for most guideline recommendations. There is a need for future research to address how Easy Read documents are used by people with intellectual disabilities according to their varied characteristics.
Social-emotional learning is essential for the vocational, social, and personal success of people with intellectual disabilities. A major component of social-emotional learning is emotion recognition, or the ability to identify emotions in yourself and others using characteristics such as facial expression, body language, and tone of voice. This study examined the effects of social-emotional learning training through combined explicit instruction, including computer-assisted instruction, video modeling, and role-plays to teach students how to recognise emotions in themselves and others based on associated characteristics. Participants included six young adults diagnosed with mild-moderate intellectual disabilities and other comorbid conditions, ranging in age from 18-29. A multiple-probe single-subject design was used to evaluate changes in the participants' emotion recognition skills across baseline, intervention, and maintenance phases. Results showed improvement in emotion recognition skills, as demonstrated by an increase in scores from baseline to intervention phase, with an average of 8.46% during baseline to 81.75% at the end of intervention across all six participants. Maintenance, generalisation, and social validity measures also demonstrated positive long-term results.
Positive behaviour support in Australian disability services has become entangled with the regulation of restrictive practices. Current policy frameworks inadvertently steer practice toward pathological, deficit-focused outcomes, overshadowing its original intent to build valued lifestyle outcomes. This conceptual analysis proposes Goldiamond's constructional approach as a structured framework and guiding set of principles to resolve this tension. The approach reframes challenging behaviour as an adaptive response and defines the goal of positive behaviour support as the deliberate construction of genuine options for achieving outcomes that are important to the person, rather than the elimination of challenging behaviour. Drawing on a practice-informed fictional case, we illustrate specific policy and organisational contingencies that divert practice from person-centred goals and show how constructional procedures can support both valued outcomes for the person and address restrictive practices. This reorientation from a deficit- to a strengths-based model is essential for achieving outcomes that go beyond mere policy compliance. The paper offers theoretical insights and actionable recommendations for practitioners, policymakers, and organisations seeking to align behaviour support with human-rights principles while the sector awaits substantive policy change.
