ABSTRACT
Adults with intellectual disability and severe behavioural disturbance have been shown to have emotional developmental delay. After a long period of expecting behavioural approaches to solve all behavioural problems, there is now a growing recognition that feelings and emotional trauma may underpin behavioural disturbance. The emotional component would appear to be the missing link in understanding the meaning of the behaviours and possible intervention. The success of the model leads to questions about the reason for the arrested emotional development. The success of the model leads to questions about the reason for the arrested emotional development. Physical and cognitive development is less affected by the trauma, but there have been instances of improvement in cognitive function, once the emotional needs are met. The Frankish model includes tools for measuring the emotional developmental stage and for planning interventions. High-frequency, low-intensity behaviours, that is, those that cause irritation rather than fear, lend themselves better to behavioural interventions in segregated environments.
