Richard P Hastings

The University of Warwick · CEDAR

Background: Children with neurodevelopmental conditions have high levels of school absence. During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools closed for many students. The relationship between home learning during school closures and subsequent school attendance requires attention to better understand the impact of pandemic education policy decisions on this...

Background: It appears that students with intellectual disability (ID) are more frequently absent from school compared with students without ID. The objective of the current study was to estimate the frequency of absence among students with ID and the reasons for absence. Potential reasons included the attendance problems referred to as school ref...

Background Relationship quality between a parent and a child typically differs between families with a child with intellectual disability (ID) and families with other children. Parent-child relationship quality matters in ID as it has been linked with child outcomes. However, there are few research studies examining factors that are related to pare...

Background Understanding sibling relationship quality is important, as it is associated with mental health outcomes in both childhood and adulthood. Arguably, these relationships are even more important for individuals with intellectual disability, as siblings can be important sources of care, support, advocacy and friendship for one another. The i...

The social and emotional wellbeing of young people is an area of increased focus for policy and practice. Schools are required to provide a holistic approach to education that includes teaching and implementing programmes designed to promote resilience and address difficult behaviours. Preliminary studies in the USA have shown promise for DBT STEPS...

Background Understanding the correlates of behaviours that challenge (CB) can help in both identifying children with intellectual disabilities (ID) at risk of developing CB and designing support programmes and interventions. Aims This study explores the correlates of CB exhibited by children with ID in special educational settings in the UK. Meth...

Background: Longitudinal research is needed to strengthen evidence for risk factors for challenging behaviour in children with intellectual disabilities and to understand patterns of change over time. Methods: Data on challenging behaviour were collected for 225 students in one school over four annual time points and a range of potential risk co...

Background Recent research suggests that having a brother or sister with autism may contribute to increased positive or negative emotional or psychological impact on siblings. Aims To use a novel multidimensional data analysis method to further understand outcomes for siblings of autistic children. Methods and Procedures 318 siblings of children...

COVID-19 brought disruptions to children’s education and mental health, and accelerated school de-registration rates. We investigated Elective Home Education (EHE) in families of children with a neurodevelopmental condition. A total of 158 parents of 5–15 year-old children with neurodevelopmental conditions (80% autistic) provided information on re...

Research on teaching mathematics to children with autism spectrum disorder using parents as mediators is limited. The purpose of the present study was to carry out an initial evaluation of an adapted numeracy programme with three children with autism spectrum disorder from Arabic families in the UK by training and supporting their parents to delive...

Family theories have been used in intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) research as a legitimizing tool for focusing on non-disabled siblings. Although there is value in understanding siblings’ outcomes, family theories have utility beyond this narrow scope. This chapter will draw on social learning theory, embedded family systems theorie...

Background: During the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a worldwide increase in the use of digital technology. Many people with learning disabilities have learned new digital skills, taken part in online activities, and kept in touch with family and friends using video calls. However, the experiences of digital participation or nonparticipation fo...

Research on the experiences of Arab families of children with autism living in non-Arab countries is scarce. A survey investigated the support needs, psychological distress, and parental relationships of Arab parents (n = 100) of children with autism living in the United Kingdom (UK). The survey consisted of five main questionnaires: a demographic...

The COVID-19 outbreak, and associated school restrictions affected the learning experience of students worldwide. The current study focused on the learning experiences of United Kingdom children with neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism and/or intellectual disability. Specifically, the aim was to examine families’ experience with school...

The preprint describes analyses that describe the experience of Elective Home Education in families of children with a neurodevelopmental condition in the UK

The preprint describes a study that aimed to describe the experience of home schooling /home learning in families of children with a neurodevelopmental condition in the UK approximately one year from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (2021)

This preprint describes analyses that examined the association between home learning (home schooling) and later school attendance problems in children with a neurodevelopmental condition during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: People with intellectual disabilities are at risk of experiencing stigma and require the skills and confidence to deal with stigma in their daily lives. Method: Development and piloting of a 5-session manualised psychosocial group intervention designed to increase the capacity of people with intellectual disabilities aged 16+ to mana...

Concern has been expressed about the extent to which people with disabilities may be particularly vulnerable to negative impacts of the 2020 COVID‐19 pandemic. However, to date little published research has attempted to characterise or quantify the risks faced by people with/without disabilities in relation to COVID‐19. We sought to compare the imp...

Background Carers report unmet need for occupational therapy services addressing sensory difficulties in autism, yet insufficient evidence exists to recommend a therapeutic approach. Objectives Our aim was to determine the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of sensory integration therapy for children with autism and sensory difficulties...

Having a disability, in particular, an intellectual disability, is associated with Internet non-use. This article explores how people with intellectual disabilities used the Internet across the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic. In April to May 2021, 571 adults with intellectual disabilities were interviewed. Participants most commonly us...

Early intervention (EI) provision is critical for families who have children with developmental disabilities (DD), but existing evidence suggests accessing EI is not always straightforward. The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive description of access to various EI supports (e.g., professionals, services, interventions) for familie...

The preprint describes analyses that investigates school attendance problems in children with neurodevelopmental conditions in the UK approximately one year after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite high rates of co-occurring depression, few studies have developed or adapted treatments targeting depressive symptoms for autistic adults. Behavioral activation is widely accepted as an empirically supported approach for treating depression in other populations. Careful attention to the mechanisms targeted by behavioral activation is an ess...

Success in adult life is associated with end of school academic attainment, but educational inequality is a major issue in the UK. Contextual background factors and personal attributes associated with student academic attainment have been identified in cross-sectional research. However, there has not been a systematic synthesis of these factors fro...

Background Reducing bullying is a public health priority. KiVa, a school-based anti-bullying programme, is effective in reducing bullying in Finland and requires rigorous testing in other countries, including the UK. This trial aims to test the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of KiVa in reducing child reported bullying in UK schools compared t...

Adult siblings are potentially important sources of care, support, advocacy, and friendship for their brothers and sisters with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Drawing on data about 851 adult siblings who completed an online national survey, we examined predictors and potential key moderators of siblings' mental distress, wellbei...

Background: Early Positive Approaches to Support (E-PAtS) is a co-produced and co-facilitated group programme that aims to provide early years support to family caregivers of children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Method: Thirty-five caregivers who had attended E-PAtS groups took part in individual interviews or focus groups....

Background: Existing research has predominately focused on dyadic relationships in families of children with intellectual disabilities. The aim of this study was to build on emerging literature exploring triadic relationships between a mother, sibling, and child with intellectual disability, investigating how they influence each other's well-being...

Background: Positive behavioural support (PBS) can be effective in supporting children and young people (CYP) with developmental disabilities. This systematic review focused on describing the components and nine characteristics of PBS that have been used with CYP with developmental disabilities in special education settings, and the evidence for P...

The tacit practical knowledge of psychologists and support staff to foster a real connection between support staff and people with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour was explored. Therefore, six dyads comprising individuals with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour and their support staff were video recorded during j...

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic meant that it became impossible for many individuals with intellectual disability to access specialist mental health support. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a set of guided self-help resources adapted for delivery on an outreach basis. Design/methodology/approach The use and impact of the resources were eva...

Background Many individuals with intellectual disability (ID) have not learnt basic reading skills by the time that they reach adulthood, potentially limiting their access to critical information. READ-IT is an online reading programme developed from the Headsprout® Early Reading (HER®) intervention and supplemented by support strategies tailored f...

Purpose-This paper aims to present data about access to and use of health and social care services by adults with learning disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Design/methodology/approach-Data were collected in three waves between December 2020 and September 2021 and concerned the use of health...

Background Parents of children with intellectual disability are 1.5–2 times more likely than other parents to report mental health difficulties. There is a lack of clinically effective and cost-effective group well-being interventions designed for family carers of young children with intellectual disability. Aim To examine the feasibility of a ran...

Background: Parents of children with intellectual disabilities are likely to experience poorer mental well-being and face challenges accessing support. Early Positive Approaches to Support (E-PAtS) is a group-based programme, co-produced with parents and professionals, based on existing research evidence and a developmental systems approach to supp...

Very little qualitative research has been carried out about the experiences of educators who deliver mathematics evidence-based teaching programmes to autistic students. Using a semi-structured format, we interviewed ten educators who had been delivering the Teaching Early Numeracy to Children with Developmental Disabilities (TEN-DD) programme for...

Mindfulness-based approaches have been shown to be effective in improving the mental health of parents of youth and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities, but prior work suggests that geography and caregiving demands can make in-person attendance challenging. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability...

We tested a novel methodological approach to examine associations between characteristics of autistic children and outcomes for siblings. Cluster analysis was used to define five groups of children with autism (n = 168) based on autism symptoms, adaptive behavior, pro-social behavior, and behavior problems. Primary and secondary parent carers, and...

Objectives To estimate levels of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among working-age adults with disabilities in the United Kingdom. Study design Cross-sectional survey. Methods Secondary analysis of data collected on a nationally representative sample of 10,114 respondents aged 16–64 years. Results The adjusted relative risk for hesitancy among respon...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present data about the experiences of adults with learning disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic across the UK. Design/methodology/approach Interviews were conducted with 609 adults with learning disabilities. Family carers and support staff of another 351 adults with learning disabilities completed a pr...

Background. Research involving people with intellectual disability has largely focused on deficits and impairment. To develop the study of truly positive experiences and outcomes for people with intellectual disability, it is important to understand research being conducted that explicitly focuses on the intersection of positive psychology theory a...

Background Given the much greater COVID-19 mortality risk experienced by people with intellectual disabilities (ID), understanding the willingness of people with ID to take a COVID-19 vaccine is a major public health issue. Method In December 2020 to February 2021, across the United Kingdom, 621 adults with ID were interviewed remotely and 348 fam...

Research evaluating phonics reading programs for children with severe intellectual disabilities (ID) is limited. The current study investigated whether using an online reading program (Headsprout® Early Reading; HER) as supplementary reading instruction for children with a severe ID leads to improvements in reading skills as compared to children no...

Background: People with an intellectual impairment experience high levels of social and health inequalities. We investigated the impact of COVID-19 on the physical and mental health of people with intellectual impairment, controlling for demographic risk, socio-economic circumstances and pre-pandemic health levels. Method: Data were drawn from t...

An emerging body of international research suggests family caregivers may be a high-risk group for suicide, but the evidence has not been synthesised. Forty-eight peer-reviewed journal articles were included in this review, spanning low-, middle-, and high-income countries and a variety of illnesses and disabilities. The proportion of caregivers ex...

Background While emerging evidence shows increased mortality from COVID-19 among people with disability, evidence regarding whether there are disability-related inequalities in health during the pandemic is lacking. Objective This study compares access to COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 related health care and mental health of people with and without di...

The Say-All-Fast-Minute-Every-Day-Shuffled (SAFMEDS) strategy promotes fast and accurate recall. The existing literature suggests that the strategy can help learners improve academic outcomes. Through a cluster randomized controlled trial, we assessed the impact of implementation support on children’s mathematics outcomes during a teacher-led SAFME...

Families play an important role in the lives of people with intellectual disability as they do for everyone. However, little research has addressed the views of people with intellectual disability about their families by using self‐report. Individual family members may hold different views about their family relationships. Therefore, we used a soci...

We explored whether reports of three dyadic relationships (marital/partner, parent-child, sibling) were related to perceptions of family functioning in 467 mothers of children with intellectual disability aged 4–15 years. Structural equation models were fitted to examine associations between relationship indicators and family functioning. The final...

Background Health professionals were trained to deliver adapted psychological interventions for depression to people with learning disabilities and depression alongside a supporter. Exploring the delivery of psychological interventions can help increase access to therapy. Method Twenty‐seven participants took part in six focus groups, and the data...

Background Parents of children with intellectual disability (ID) report comparatively lower levels of well‐being than parents of children without ID. Similarly, children with ID, and to a lesser extent their siblings, are reported to show comparatively higher levels of behaviour and emotional problems. Psychological problems may be accentuated by r...

Stakeholder involvement is fundamental to Positive Behavioral Support yet research in this area rarely obtains views of children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. This study aimed to develop and demonstrate a means of engaging directly with children to identify personalized goals and priorities for their future support. An augmented...

Background Family members caring for children with intellectual disability (ID) routinely report heightened levels of psychological distress. However, families of children with Down syndrome typically report better outcomes (known as the Down syndrome advantage). We examined whether the Down syndrome advantage would be present for maternal psycholo...

Emotional and behavioural problems occur more commonly in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) compared to other children. Few studies have focused on these problems in children with ASD attending mainstream schools. We assessed via parent report the emotional and behavioural problems in 160 children aged 4-17 years with ASD attending mains...

Mathematics is one of the core school subjects in the UK and an emphasis is placed on developing pupils’ mathematical competencies throughout all key stages. Despite that, the attainment of students with disabilities in mathematics remains low. The current study explored ways in which the Teaching Early Numeracy to children with Developmental Disab...

Background Early intervention (EI) can improve a range of outcomes for families of children with developmental disabilities. However, research indicates the level of access does not always match the level of need. To address disparities, it is essential to identify factors influencing access. Method We propose a framework where access to EI is con...

Cultural dimensions of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are relatively unexplored in the research literature. The current study is a systematic scoping review describing social, educational, and psychological research focused on individuals with ASD and their family members in Arab countries and cultures. Seventy studies met eligibility criteria. Mos...

We assessed the clinical utility of the parent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) as a screen for emotional and behavioural difficulties in 626 children and young people with intellectual disability. Using the Developmental Behavior Checklist (DBC2-P) to determine clinical caseness, the area under the curve for the SDQ total di...

Background Children and young people with intellectual disability and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder (autism) experience higher rates of mental health problems, including depression, than their typically developing peers. Although international guidelines suggest psychological therapies as first-line intervention for children and young people, there i...

Background The Family Network Method – Intellectual Disability (FNM-ID) was used to compare perspectives of people with mild intellectual disability and their support workers on family networks of people with intellectual disability. Method 138 participants with mild intellectual disability and support workers were interviewed, using the FNM-ID. P...

There is a large science attainment gap between students with and without special educational needs, and many students with developmental disabilities (DD) struggle to access the mainstream science programmes of study. The purpose of the present project was to pilot the use of the Early Science (ES) curriculum over a six week period with nine stude...

Background: Children with intellectual disability have an IQ < 70, associated deficits in adaptive skills and are at increased risk of having clinically concerning levels of behaviour problems. In addition, parents of children with intellectual disability are likely to report high levels of mental health and other psychological problems. The Early...

Objectives Mindfulness-based programs (MBPs) such as the ‘Soles of the Feet’ (SoF) meditation have been shown to be effective for reducing aggressive behavior in people with intellectual disabilities (ID). Research on SoF has shown promising results in the USA but there is an absence of evidence for the approach in the United Kingdom (UK). The aim...

Objectives Family carers of people with intellectual disabilities (ID) are twice as likely as other carers to experience stress and mental ill-health, but research exploring interventions is sparse. Online mindfulness may provide an accessible, cost-effective resource. The addition of guided telephone support could help to tailor an existing interv...

The aim of the present study was to investigate positive experiences with professionals and services, from the perspective of mothers of children with autism. Parents’ negative experiences with services are well documented, but the experiences of ‘good practice’ have been less well researched. Seventeen mothers of children with autism aged between...

Although a wealth of literature has focused on the parenting experiences of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there is a lack of research about mothers who are parenting a child with ASD, and who have other children with neurodevelopmental disorders. In this matched-comparison study, 10 mothers of a child with ASD and other t...

Background Family is recognised as an important context for the self‐development of young adults in emerging adulthood, although very little research has addressed the perspective of young people with intellectual disability about their families by using self‐report. This study examined how emerging adults with mild intellectual disability define t...

Background Globally, people with intellectual disabilities and/or autism experience health inequalities. Death occurs at a younger age and the prevalence of long-term morbidities is higher than in the general population. Despite this, their primary healthcare access rates are lower than the general population, their health needs are often unmet, an...

Background Based on self‐reported social capital, different typologies of family networks of people with intellectual disabilities were examined. Associations between behavioural and emotional problems or well‐being and typologies were investigated. Method 137 participants with mild intellectual disability were interviewed using the Family Network...

Statistics relating to special schools indicate very low rates of basic literacy. However, there is very little information available regarding typical instruction in these settings and, therefore, no clear picture of the potential barriers precluding the improvement of reading skills in special schools. The current paper investigated current pract...