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Science and pseudoscience in developmental disabilities: guidelines for social workers.

Bruce A Thyer¹, Monica Pignotti

¹College of Social Work, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, USA. bthyer@fsu.edu

Journal of Social Work in Disability & Rehabilitation

|August 24, 2010

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Empirically supported treatments benefit individuals with developmental disabilities, but pseudoscientific therapies harm them. Social workers should prioritize evidence-based interventions over bogus treatments for better outcomes.

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Area of Science:

Developmental Disabilities
Behavioral Science
Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

Individuals with developmental disabilities can access effective, empirically supported treatments.
Pseudoscientific and bogus therapies are prevalent and detrimental to this population.
Human service professionals, including social workers, sometimes offer unsupported interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

To review the characteristics of pseudoscientific and bogus treatments.
To provide examples of harmful, unsupported interventions.
To encourage social workers to adopt evidence-based practices.

Main Methods:

Literature review of pseudoscientific and empirically supported treatments.
Analysis of contemporary interventions offered to individuals with developmental disabilities.
Case examples of unsupported therapies.

Main Results:

Pseudoscientific treatments lack empirical support and can be harmful.
Bogus therapies are offered by some human service professionals.
Empirically supported treatments improve educational, social, vocational, and self-care skills while reducing behavioral issues.

Conclusions:

Social workers must differentiate between evidence-based and pseudoscientific interventions.
Prioritizing empirically supported treatments is crucial for the well-being of individuals with developmental disabilities.
Avoiding bogus therapies ensures ethical and effective service delivery.