This handbook examines the wide-ranging applications of positive psychology in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities. It discusses the change in perceptions of disability and the shifting use of traditional deficit-based treatments. It presents evidence-based approaches and strategies that promote individuals’ strengths and capacities and as well as provide supports and services to enhance quality of life. Chapters address medical and psychological aspects in intellectual and developmental disabilities, such as mindfulness, motivation, physical well-being, and self-regulation. The book also discusses uses of assessment practices in evaluating interventions and client outcomes. In addition, it explores ways practitioners, with positive psychology, can focus on what a person is capable of achieving, thereby leading to more effective approaches to care and treatment. Topics featured in the Handbook include: Translating the quality of life concept into practice. The Casual Agency Theory and its implications for understanding self-determination. The Mindfulness-Based Individualized Support Plan (MBISP) and its use in providing support to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The unique role that friendship plays to people’s lives and social well-being. Supported Decision-Making (SDM) as an alternative to guardianship. A positive psychology approach to aging and retirement. The Handbook of Positive Psychology in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities is a must-have resource for researchers, professors, and graduate students as well as clinicians and related professionals in clinical child and school psychology, behavioral therapy, social work, applied behavioral analysis, recreational therapy, occupational therapy, education, speech and language pathology, psychiatry, clinical medicine, and nursing.

This book is the definitive text in the field of positive psychology, the scientific study of what makes people happy. The handbook's international slate of renowned authors summarizes and synthesizes lifetimes of research, together illustrating what has worked for people across time and cultures. Now in paperback, this second edition provides both the current literature in the field and an outlook on its future.

This authoritative handbook reviews the breadth of current knowledge about developmental disabilities: neuroscientific and genetic foundations; the impact on health, learning, and behavior; and effective educational and clinical practices. Leading authorities analyze what works in intervening with diverse children and families, from infancy through the school years and the transition to adulthood. Chapters present established and emerging approaches to promoting communication and language abilities, academic skills, positive social relationships, and vocational and independent living skills. Current practices in positive behavior support are discussed, as are strategies for supporting family adaptation and resilience.

This volume examines what positive psychology offers to our understanding of key issues in working life today. The chapters focus on such topics as strengths, leadership, human resource management, employee engagement, communications, well-being, and work-life balance.

This handbook is the first comprehensive text on positive psychology and disability. Emphasizing paradigmatic changes in understanding disability, the text covers traditional disciplines in positive psychology; and applications of positive psychology to domains like education or work.

"This comprehensive, interdisciplinary handbook presents the latest research in the study, assessment, treatment, and understanding of intellectual and developmental disabilities. The past five decades have resulted in dramatic breakthroughs in the understanding of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Editor-in-Chief Laraine Masters Glidden and her editorial team provide an overview of the historical foundations of the field of IDD as well as up-to-date material on clinical diagnosis, assessment, interventions, and treatments for such conditions. It goes on to address legal, ethical, and educational issues; and other social issues that affect the lives of people with IDD, including family impact and adjustment, relationships and parenting, spirituality, residential and caretaking services, maltreatment and criminal justice issues, stigma and ableism, health, and aging. Chapters address the etiology and treatment of specific conditions (including Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, other genetic and chromosomal conditions, autism spectrum disorder, acquired brain injury, cerebral palsy, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders) as well as functioning in multiple domains and throughout the lifespan. Contributing causes to IDD are explored within various contexts such as culture, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status."-- Provided by publisher.

Roughly 54 million people with disabilities live in the U.S., and there are many more millions of people with disabilities around the world. Not surprisingly, differences among and between people with disabilities are often as notable as differences between people with and without disabilities. And, while the lack of homogeneity among people with disabilities makes creating a valid taxonomy under this term difficult, if not impossible, there is commonality among and between people with disabilities that justifies an authoritative resource on positive psychology and disability. That is, they have experienced discrimination and marginalization as a function of their disability. This volume assembles chapters by leading scholars in the fields of disability and positive psychology to provide a comprehensive synthesis of the state of the field of positive psychology and disability. Chapters are organized into thematic sections, beginning with an introductory section providing information on overarching themes in positive psychology and disability. The second section highlights the application of positive psychological constructs to disability, including quality of life, self-determination, adaptive behavior, optimism, hope, problem solving, forgiveness, gratitude, and spirituality. The following section addresses systemic issues in disability that impact positive psychology, again turning to disciplines beyond just psychology (special education, rehabilitation sciences, family, and disability policy) to address areas in which positive psychology can be applied. A fourth section examines positive psychology in specific disabled populations, including physical disabilities, cognitive and developmental disabilities, severe multiple disabilities, emotional and behavioral disabilities, and autism spectrum disorders. Disability has always been associated with "differentness" and, consequently, people with disabilities have, throughout time, been treated as such. As the first handbook to consider disability from a strengths-based perspective, this volume provides a catalyst to accelerate the application of positive psychology with regard to how disability is understood.