Rehabilitation professionals working with students with disabilities and the families of those students face unique challenges in providing inclusive services to special education student populations. There needs to be a focus on adaptive teaching methods that provide quality experience for students with varying disabilities to promote student…

Quantitative behaviour analysis requires the classification of behaviour to produce the basic data. This can be challenging when the theoretical taxonomy does not match observational limitations, or if a theoretical taxonomy is unavailable. Binary keys allow qualitative observation to be used to modify a theoretical taxonomy to produce a practical…

Neural network technology was compared with simultaneous and stepwise linear discriminant analysis in terms of their ability to classify and predict persons (n=138) as having autism or mental retardation. The neural network methodology was superior in both classifying groups and in generalizing to new cases that were not part of the training…

This population study of eight California birth cohorts (1987-1994) examined the degree to which improvements in detection and changes in diagnosis contribute to the observed increase in autism prevalence from 5.8 to 14.9 per 10,000. A decreasing prevalence of mental retardation without autism suggests that improvements in detection and changes in…

This study of 102 individuals with autism found that the brainstem and cerebellum increased in size with age but were significantly smaller in autistic patients than in controls. Analysis of the speed of development suggests that brainstem and vermian abnormalities in autism were due to an early insult and hypoplasia rather than to progressive…

This paper reviewed the psychometric properties of the DSM-III-R (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual III, Revised) criteria for autism. Results indicated that the criteria had, on average, very good sensitivity but much lower specificity. It is concluded that the DSM-III-R criteria act more like screening criteria than diagnostic criteria.…

Cluster analysis of data from 166 children with autistic spectrum disorders revealed 4 subtypes with differences in behavioral and cognitive areas. The four subtypes include a typically autistic group, a low-functioning group, a high-functioning group (Asperger syndrome/schizoid), and a hard-to-diagnose group with mild/moderate retardation and a…

This study found that motor impairment levels of 12 Asperger syndrome children and 9 high functioning autistic children (ages 7-17) did not differ. Intelligence level was negatively correlated with motor impairment. Fifty percent of Asperger children and 67% of children with autism showed a clinically significant level of motor impairment.…

This study compared DSM-III-R (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual III, Revised), Childhood Autism Rating Scale, and clinical diagnoses of 138 admissions to a program for diagnosis and treatment of autistic and related communication-handicapped individuals. Results indicated generally high agreement on the diagnosis of autism, with DSM-III-R…

Two studies evaluated the 10-question Nylander questionnaire as a screening test for autism among adults in British psychiatric hospitals. Both studies found high inter-rater reliability and no false negatives, but the studies resulted in an unacceptably high rate of false positives. (Contains 3 references.) (DB)

The study identified communicative patterns of preschool children (N=11) with handicaps (Down's Syndrome, specific language impairments, and autism). Down's Syndrome children were like normal children of the same language stage on all parameters whereas autistic children scored outside the normal range on all but one parameter. (Author/DB)

This paper compared clinicians' diagnosis and DSM-III (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual), DSM-III-R (Revised), and ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases) diagnoses of 52 individuals with autism and 62 nonautistic, developmentally disordered individuals. The DSM-III-R system overdiagnosed the presence of autism, and ICD-10 closely…

Data on 52 individuals with and 62 individuals without autism were analyzed to assess developmental aspects of the DSM-III-R (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual III, Revised) diagnostic system. Findings indicate that DSM-III-R criteria are more developmentally oriented and more behaviorally specific than previous criteria, but the diagnostic…

Analysis of family and medical histories of 5 children (ages 11 to 16) with autism and hyperlexia and 5 sex-matched and IQ-matched children (ages 9 to 15) with autism but no hyperlexia suggested that children with autism and hyperlexia represent part of the continuum of autism rather than a specific syndrome. (Author/DB)

A Japanese translation of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale was used with 167 developmentally disabled children under age 16. Total score demonstrated a satisfactory level of taxonomic validity and discriminated infantile autism and other pervasive developmental disorders from mental retardation alone. A satisfactory concurrent validity on the…