BACKGROUND: People with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) are known to have high rates of prescription drug use, particularly for psychotropic medications. This is of concern due to the many side effects associated with these medications and because of the risks of polypharmacy. In this paper we compare the most commonly dispensed drugs and all psychotropic medications for youth with IDD compared with youth without IDD.
METHODS: Using population-level administrative health data over a 10-year period, this study examined medications dispensed to youth with an IDD aged 15-24 years compared with youth without an IDD. The most common medications dispensed and the number of youth they were dispensed to were determined. As well a wide variety of psychotropic medications were examined.
RESULTS: There were a total of 20 591 youth with IDD and 1 293 791 youth without IDD identified. Youth with IDD had higher odds of being dispensed pain medications, amoxicillin, salbutamol, levothyroxine and all the psychotropic medications (antidepressants, antipsychotics, anxiolytics, anti-adrenergic agents, mood stabilisers and stimulants). For youth with IDD, 6558 (31.85%) were dispensed two or more different psychotropic medications within a year, compared with 75 963 (5.87%) of youth without IDD.
CONCLUSIONS: Compared to youth without IDD, youth with IDD had significantly higher odds of being dispensed most of the prescription medications studied, including all of the psychotropic medications. They were also twice as likely to be dispensed two or more medications from different classes of psychotropic drugs within the same year. These findings have important implications for the health of people with IDD and for their health care providers.

Motor control issues are common for people with intellectual disabilities (PWID), resulting in difficulties with basic activities of daily living, including eating. Mastication, which is crucial for digestion and overall health, is poorly understood in this population. PWID shows frailty similar to older people, highlighting the importance of comparing masticatory motor control with older adults. This study compared the neuromuscular control of the masticatory muscles in middle-aged, PWID and older adults.
A cross-sectional analytical design was used. During the mastication task of a carrot piece (2 cm in diameter and weighing 0.5 g), surface electromyography was used to record muscle activity patterns from the right and left masseter and temporalis muscles. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to assess neuromuscular control. A z-score normalisation of the first component\'s variance from PCA to identify those individuals with altered neuromuscular control. A mixed ANOVA was performed to assess the interaction between principal components, groups and body composition.
Thirty PWIDs (aged 35-55 years), middle-aged adults and 32 older adults were recruited. PWID and older adults showed decreased neuromuscular control of the masticatory muscles compared to middle-aged control adults (P < 0.05). PWID had the highest proportion of individuals with altered neuromuscular control of the masticatory muscle (53%) compared to older adults (19%) and middle-aged adults (0%) (P < 0.05).
Our results indicate that PWID and older adults have reduced neuromuscular control compared to middle-aged adults. Notably, a significant proportion of the PWID showed altered masticatory muscle control compared to older adults. Further research is needed to explore the potential benefits of masticatory muscle training for PWID.

Telehealth (i.e. the use of technology across distance) is widespread in many fields. Although its use for behavioural support for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) is emerging, there are no known studies examining stakeholder perceptions of this.
A four-round Delphi consultation was conducted with 11 professionals and six family carers of children with IDD to generate consensus on what would influence participants\' use of telehealth for behavioural support. Data were collected prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
Thirty-six items reached consensus for professionals (26 advantages and 10 disadvantages/barriers) and 22 for family carers (8 advantages and 14 disadvantages/barriers). A range of solutions were also identified for the disadvantages/barriers.
Participants were willing to use telehealth for behavioural support. However, disadvantages/barriers need to be addressed, and guidelines relating to the use of telehealth in this field are needed. We report a number of practice recommendations including combining telehealth with in-person supports where possible, incorporating video technologies, and considering client perspectives and confidence with telehealth methodologies.

As clinical trials for Rett syndrome are underway, there is a need to validate potential supplemental outcome measures that reflect important signs and symptoms. Autonomic dysfunction, particularly vasomotor dysfunction, is one potential area for which biomarkers could be developed.
In the current study, infrared thermal images of hands and feet from 26 females with Rett syndrome (aged 62 months to 39 years), and 17 females without known intellectual, genetic or neurological disorders (aged 55 months to 39 years) were collected. Between-group differences in skin temperature, and temporal stability of skin temperature measures in the Rett syndrome group, and relationships between skin temperature measures and parent-reported and researcher-evaluated indicators of autonomic dysfunction were evaluated.
Between-group differences showed lower hand and foot temperatures in the Rett syndrome group. Hand temperature measurements were stable over time and were moderately correlated with parent-reported autonomic symptoms. Foot temperature measurements were more variable than hand temperatures but showed stronger correlations with parent-reported autonomic symptoms.
The results provide preliminary support for the reliability and validity of hand and foot skin temperature measures in Rett syndrome. Additional research is needed to replicate these results and evaluate the temporal stability of these measures over shorter time scales.