Purpose of review: To review the recent evidence regarding early intervention and prevention studies for children with developmental disabilities and behaviour problems from 2011 to 2013. Recent advances in the field are discussed and important areas for future research are highlighted.
Recent findings: Recent reviews and studies highlight the utility of antecedent interventions and skills training interventions for reducing behaviour problems. There is preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of parent training interventions when delivered in minimally sufficient formats or in clinical settings. Two recent studies have demonstrated the utility of behavioural interventions for children with genetic causes of disability.
Summary: Various forms of behavioural and parent training interventions are effective at reducing the behaviour problems in children with developmental disabilities. However, research on prevention and early intervention continues to be relatively scarce. Further large-scale dissemination studies and effectiveness studies in clinical or applied settings are needed.