As a graduate student a decade ago, I recall vividly reading the inaugural issue of the Journal of Behavioral Medicine when it appeared in 1978. Its purpose was described as "a broadly conceived interdisciplinary publication devoted to fur thering our understanding of physical health and illness through knowledge and techniques of behavioral science:' The articles in that first issue addressed such topics as the biofeedback treatment of neuromuscular disorders, anxiety manage ment of Type A behavior, and premorbid psychological factors related to cancer incidence. At that time, coursework in behavioral medicine was in its infancy at my university, and I, along with many classmates, was eager to learn more of this "new and emerging field:' Thinking back to those times, it is astonishing for one to reflect on the rapid evolution of behavioral medicine and its current status as a clinical and scientific discipline. Organizations such as the Society of Behavioral Medicine now include a broad-based membership that is convened yeady at a major convention. In addition to the Journal of Behavioral Medicine, professionals can avail them selves of several other specialty journals (Annals of Behavioral Medicine, Behavioral Medicine Abstracts, Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pedi atrics) as well as the numerous articles on behavioral medicine that appear regu larly in the clinical psychology, psychiatry, rehabilitation, and behavior therapy literature. And behavioral medicine services and training programs are encoun tered with increasing frequency within clinic, hospital, and academic settings.

Since the late 1960s, the behavioral treatment of mentally retarded, au tistic, and other developmentally disabled persons has grown progres sively more sophisticated. The literature on behavioral treatment has produced effective and clinically significant programs for the reduction of maladaptive behaviors such as tantrums, aggression, and self-injury; skills deficits have been remediated through improved programs for language and life skills acquisition; and new environments have been opened in the creation of mainstream educational opportunities. In spite of these advances, it strikes us that this almost exclusive focus on behavior problems and skills remediation has been somewhat myopic and that much of the potential for application of behavioral science to solving problems of the developmentally disabled is as yet untapped. In the 1980s, an important revolution has taken place: the devel opment of the field of behavioral medicine. This field, in merging disease treatment and management with learning and behavior, has already made impressive progress toward a reconceptualization of health care that acknowledges the centrality of behavior in disease expression. Al though there has, as yet, been only a preliminary application of this reconceptualization to the field of developmental disabilities, we are convinced that further extension has great potential.

This book discusses the latest evidence-based practices and how they can be implemented to address health problems in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). It offers various intervention and prevention strategies for treating commonly encountered issues in patients with IDD, such as eating and sleeping disorders, repetitive self-harming behaviors, and personal hygiene problems. Primary strategies include encouraging healthful habits, reducing noncompliance and risk-taking behaviors, and direct intervention to promote optimum functioning while reducing discomfort, frustration, and adverse behaviors. In addition, contributors describe training and consultation models to enable readers to work more effectively with practitioners, clinicians, and parents as well as with the patients themselves. Topics featured in this book include: Compliance with medical routines. Increasing and maintaining exercise and other physical activities. Assistive technologies in severe and multiple disabilities. Substance use and health-related issues. Consultation with medical and healthcare providers. Parent training and support. Behavioral Health Promotion and Intervention in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities is a valuable resource for researchers, clinicians, and graduate students in clinical psychology, behavioral therapy/rehabilitation, social work, public health, and other interrelated fields.

Entirely revised and updated, this edition of a very well-received and successful book provides the essentials for all those involved in the fields of intellectual, developmental and learning disabilities and mental retardation, drawing both on clinical experience and the latest research findings. An international, multidisciplinary team of experts cover the available literature in full and bring together the most relevant and useful information on mental health and behavioural problems of people with intellectual, developmental and learning disabilities and mental retardation. In addition, this book highlights the principles behind clinical practice for assessment, management and services. It offers hands-on, practical advice for psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, therapists, social workers, managers and service providers.

The Handbook of Crisis Intervention and Developmental Disabilities synthesizes a substantive range of evidence-based research on clinical treatments as well as organizational processes and policy. This comprehensive resource examines the concept of behavioral crisis in children and adults with special needs and provides a data-rich trove of research-into-practice findings. Emphasizing continuum-of-care options and evidence-based best practices, the volume examines crisis interventions across diverse treatment settings, including public and private schools, nonacademic residential settings as well as outpatient and home-based programs. Key coverage includes: Assessment of problem behaviors. Co-occurring psychiatric disorders in individuals with intellectual disabilities. Family members’ involvement in prevention and intervention. Intensive treatment in pediatric feeding disorders. Therapeutic restraint and protective holding. Effective evaluation of psychotropic drug effects. The Handbook of Crisis Intervention and Developmental Disabilities is a must-have resource for researchers, scientist-practitioners, and graduate students in clinical child, school, developmental, and counseling psychology, clinical social work, behavior therapy/analysis, and special education as well as other related professionals working across a continuum of service delivery settings.