Supporting Changing Needs Through the End of Life for Adults with Disabilities in Residential Settings

• By: Maggie Haag, MEd, BCBA, LSW, CDE® Heather Hirst, PT, DPT Aaron Emmons, MS Melmark PA
• July 29th, 2024
• aging adults, caregivers, dementia, developmental disabilities, end of life treatment, family, quality of life, staff training, Summer 2024 Issue
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Everyone changes with aging, often in invisible ways. You may be surprised to learn that beginning at age 25, there is a slow decline in speed, reasoning, spatial skills, and memory (Salthouse, 2009). At the age of 30, there is a 3-8% loss of muscle mass per decade (Volpi, 2004). By the age of 65,...

Honoring Donna Colonna’s Contribution to the Field of Human Services

• By: Services for the UnderServed (S:US)
• January 5th, 2022
• behavioral health, developmental disabilities, employment, housing, personal development, Winter 2022 Issue
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After 25 years of passionate and dedicated service as the CEO of Services for the UnderServed (S:US), Donna Colonna recently announced her plan to retire in February 2022. Donna has spent her nearly 50-year career working to promote self-determination for people who have been disadvantaged by the...

Integrated Psychiatry for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities

• By: Shawn P. Quigley, PhD, BCBA-D Danielle Block MBA, BSN, RN Frank L. Bird MEd, BCBA, LABA Melmark
• October 1st, 2019
• behavior analysis, developmental disabilities, integrated care, interdisciplinary teams, polypharmacy, psychotropic medication, residential treatment
• 1326    0

Use of psychotropic drugs for individuals with developmental disabilities is common practice. For example, Jobski, Hofer, Hoffman, and Bachmann (2016) documented an overall median use of psychotropic drugs in 45.7% of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Wink et al., (2018) documented...