The Sharland Foundation Developmental Disabilities Applied Behavioural Research and Impact Network (SF-DDARIN) is a network of like-minded research practitioners. The over-arching purpose of SF-DDARIN is to increase the reach and impact of behaviourally-based interventions for children and adults with developmental disabilities (including intellectual disabilities and/or autism) to support their independence and increased quality of life.

We hope to achieve this through four strongly inter-linked areas of work:

1. Conducting high quality research

Working with colleagues and organisations in the UK we will maximise research opportunities by facilitating network members working together and lead the development of research grant applications, in two areas of behaviourally-related developmental disabilities research:

• • Teaching skills to children, young people and adults

  • PBS across the life-span

2. Influencing professionals

We aim to influence professionals through the publication of case studies, clinical examples, intervention manuals and protocols, and programme descriptions of programmes that can address common problems faced when working with children or adults with developmental disabilities. We will identify examples of good practice and support their dissemination in different ways, including via professional journals, at conferences and community or practice events across the UK or via social media.

3. Conducting special projects with a focus on impact -

“Special projects” are where network members actively engage with collaborators to facilitate and/or lead projects of national significance designed to improve access of people with developmental disabilities to evidence-based behaviourally based interventions and/ or to skilled behavioural practitioners.

4. Dissemination through using mainstream social media -

Network outputs and projects are regularly disseminated into social and mainstream media outlets to generate as much positive press for behaviourally-based interventions and developmental disabilities research as possible. We also disseminate a wide range of stories, news articles, research papers, upcoming events and guidance documents that may be of interest to people interested in behavioural science and its applications. Our dissemination serves several purposes: we can share our SF-DDARIN research and activities more widely, we can share accurate and positive information regarding different service delivery models for behavioural interventions, we can share up to date and interesting applied behavioural research and we can disseminate updates in guidance and policy that may be of interest to our followers.