This booklet attempts to answer commonly asked questions of parents of children with developmental disabilities about how to get children active in community recreational activities. The questions focus on accessing recreational activities and settings that include children both with and without disabilities. The booklet notes requirements of…

Starting with the premise that all people have a right to quality health care, this guide emphasizes that assisting people with developmental disabilities to obtain health care and maintain healthy life styles will enhance the quality of their lives at home and in the community. The guide consists of four sections. A section on obtaining care…

The concept of quality of life (QOL) has become an important public policy and service delivery issue within the mental retardation/developmental disabilities field. QOL measurement focuses on a number of personal and environmental factors, including independence, productivity, living/residential environment, interpersonal and community…

This handbook was produced to help Maine families of children with disabilities to deal positively with their situations and children. It provides insights into services that have been developed, problems that may arise, and resources available. The handbook discusses types of developmental disabilities; the role of parents as advocates;…

The manual describes development of a personal growth and peer support group for parents of developmentally delayed or disabled children which was designed to help parents adjust expectations about their infant or young child and to accommodate the handicap. Initial decisions regarding leader and participant characteristics and frequency and…

This booklet explains a system for prevention of and intervention with behavior problems in individuals with mental retardation and autism. The underlying premise is that all behaviors are an effort at communication and that by deciphering the communicative intent or function, one can guide an individual to a more acceptable mode of communication.…

Investigated whether a community based fitness program could help improve the fitness levels of adults with developmental disabilities (predominantly mental retardation) and promote fitness and exercise. Pretest-posttest data indicated that personalized social support increased participant compliance and motivation, adaptations in routines helped…

This article proposes assessment targets and protocols for children with profound developmental disabilities who are nonsymbolic communicators. Targets include children's actual or perceived communicative behaviors, their communicative partners, and their communicative environments. Protocols consist of interviews, observations, structured…

This article suggests possible applications of experimental analyses using analogues to empirically verify results of functional assessments in classrooms for students with autism and related disabilities. Analogue assessments involve creating conditions in which antecedents and consequences are held constant and specific variables suspected to…

This paper reviews the characteristics and needs of students with high functioning autism. First, it lists 18 common characteristics of autism, then it stresses that autism is defined by the general pattern of characteristics. Next, it discusses how people with high functioning autism differ from those with autism. These differences include higher…

This booklet reviews the developmental tasks and needs of infants and toddlers, describes the support for healthy development currently available in the United States, and documents needs which are not being met. Two major initiatives are proposed and strategies for their implementation are recommended. Proposals argue for the (1) establishment of…

The article reviews and analyzes existing assistance procedures with moderately to severely developmentally disabled students. Procedures considered include those performed prior to responding and those involved with fading assistance. Implications for selecting assistance procedures are examined. (CL)

There is a growing body of research to support the benefits of early intervention programs for children who have or are at high risk of having a developmental disability. Tennessee's Early Intervention System (TEIS) was developed to ensure that all families of children birth through age two who have a developmental disability have access to…

Parents should counter the common perception of the developmentally disabled as eternal children and foster social acceptability through encouraging normal speech, teaching appropriate touching, and providing age appropriate experiences. (SW)

The nature of chronic infections in developmentally disabled children is reviewed, along with appropriate management strategies for care providers and implications for other children. Discussed are herpes simplex virus, cytomegalovirus, hepatitis B virus, and human immunodeficiency virus. (Author/JDD)