Evidence-based Practice in Developmental Disabilities: What is it and Why Does it Matter?

Adrienne Perry spoke about the importance of evidence-based practice in the field of developmental disabilities. This is a summary of that keynote address. We all want to do the best job possible with the clients/students/ consumers/people we support. Evidence-based practice is all about helping us do that. That's why it matters. In our experience, Ontario is fortunate to have many caregivers and therapists who are interested in up-to-date research findings, as well as researchers who are scientist-practitioners in the developmental disabilities (DD) field. In terms of evidence-based practice, the ground is fertile and well-cultivated, the seed is sown, and the crop is already growing in many parts of the field. Our task is to encourage this growth even more, throughout the field. So what is Evidence-based Practice? It can be defined as "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions abou