Mindfulness and Acceptance in Developmental Disabilities: Introduction to the Special Issue

Excerpt

Mindfulness and acceptance training programs and interventions have rapidly gained widespread international interest, but their use in the field of developmental disabilities has been much slower. However, the field appears to have overcome the inertia associated with new approaches and is on the tipping point of having a major impact. A major reluctance to adopt these new “therapies” may be attributable to the plethora of fads espoused by some professionals in developmental disabilities. Furthermore, there was some question whether individuals with developmental disabilities would have the cognitive capacity to understand and practice some of the foundational concepts associated with mindfulness-based procedures. As attested by the current research, there is now optimism that mindfulness and acceptance procedures may prove to be valuable in assisting parents and paid carers to enhance the quality of life of individuals with developmental disabilities (Noone 2013; Russell 2011). Indeed, there is also limited research that indicates individuals who function at mild, and perhaps moderate, levels of intellectual disabilities may benefit from learning mindfulness-based procedures (Robertson 2011). …