Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are more likely to experience trauma than neurotypical children. Yet, despite their increased vulnerability, youth with IDD and their families encounter many barriers to finding available and effective trauma treatment.
In the June 2024 edition of Positive Approaches Journal, a team of professionals from the UPMC Theiss Center for Child and Adolescent Trauma published an article describing learning, experiences and successes achieved throughout many years of providing specialized trauma treatment for youth, including those with IDD, and share a case study illustrating the potential for improvement when high quality trauma therapy is available to all children with trauma histories, whether with or without intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Bridging Theory to Practice: Trauma Proficient Services for Youth with Autism and Developmental Disabilities, by Kimberly Blair, Teri Pentz, Alonzo Alston and Tara Pavlocak, can be found online here or in printable .pdf format here.
Blair, K., Pentz, T., Alston, A., & Pavlocak, T. (2024). Bridging Theory to Practice: Trauma Proficient Services for Youth with Autism and Developmental Disabilities. Positive Approaches Journal, 13(1), 51–62. MyODP. https://www.myodp.org/mod/book/view.php?id=53788&chapterid=1072