This study investigated the reasons why parents with children with special needs choose to leave their homeland with their children, the difficulties they encounter in their new countries, the services they receive for their children in new countries, and their level of satisfaction with these services. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 15 parents residing in various countries. The findings indicate that parents migrated to developed countries due to negative attitudes toward themselves and their children in Türkiye, discrimination, and dissatisfaction with educational services. These parents emphasized that their children were happy in the countries they migrated to and expressed satisfaction with the special education services they received. Furthermore, most of these parents do not intend to return to Türkiye permanently.

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities are often excluded from equitable inclusion in the development and execution of research. Despite increased advocacy for inclusive research over the last decade, the widespread use of such practices remains limited. There is a need for systemic change to foster the inclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in planning, conducting, and disseminating research. This paper describes actions taken by a research group to make system changes to empower and support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to learn about and engage in research. It highlights ongoing work that is needed and possible ways to advance systemic change.

Although respite care can have a profound impact on the well-being of families, most parents of children with disabilities struggle to access these scarce services. The purpose of this qualitative study was to map the breadth of barriers families encounter in their pursuit of respite care. We interviewed 31 parents of children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) about their experiences and the challenges they navigated. Fifteen key barriers emerged in our analyses, highlighting the complexities of this pursuit and the multifaceted issues that can arise for families. We offer recommendations for research and practice aimed at expanding access to this much-needed-but often elusive-family support.

Extensive research has focused on parent advocacy, but the advocacy efforts of siblings of autistic individuals remain less studied. This study aims to identify the correlates of individual and systemic advocacy among siblings of autistic individuals. Using a national survey, 256 adult siblings of autistic individuals indicated their advocacy activities. Descriptive statistics and hierarchical regressions were used for analyses. Results indicated that, although siblings often engaged in both individual and systemic advocacy, they present as distinct constructs with varying correlates. Older siblings who engaged in future planning and/or were knowledgeable about disability policy were more likely to conduct individual advocacy. Systemic advocacy was greater among siblings more connected to the disability community and had reciprocal exchanges of tangible support.

Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) have the right to gender and sexual self-determination, meaning they should have choice and control in how they express their gender and sexuality. In this inclusive research study, I interviewed 23 LGBTQ+ adults with IDD from the United States to examine their perspectives on barriers and facilitators to gender and sexual self-determination. The participants described how societal attitudes, validation, acceptance, access to information, personal agency, and connections with the LGBTQ+ community could present barriers or facilitators to their gender and sexual self-expression. These perspectives have implications for improving practices and policies to promote the right to gender and sexual self-determination.

Inclusive research reflects a societal shift in how disability is understood from deficit-based to a social-ecological model. The purpose of this article is to delineate the barriers to and supports for inclusive research and the outcomes that are achieved through inclusive research using a social-ecological approach. In the social-ecological framing of inclusive research, a strength-based understanding of disability and the barriers to inclusive research were emphasized. The supports model was employed to describe the role of individual and environmental supports for the inclusion of researchers with intellectual disability. Personal, research, and social outcomes of inclusive research, mediated by supports, were explained. These outcomes interactively make changes in the context where inclusive research is conducted, further enhancing outcomes.