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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
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.
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.

