Background: The high support needs of persons with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities hamper their possibilities for self-determination. To support their self-determination understanding of what this means for this group is necessary. Method: A three-round Delphi procedure with international experts was undertaken to operationalise…

In England, the term 'multi-sensory impairment' (MSI) has come to overlap with other labels, which is problematic for both research and practice. We undertook a scoping review of empirical studies conducted in England over the past 20 years on MSI and overlapping labels. We designed and used a review protocol and combined multiple searching…

This study of 182 secondary special education students with emotional and/or behavioral disorders investigated their classification by their school districts, in particular how well they were distinguished and represented by their federal categories. The districts used four classification groups (emotional disturbance, other health impairment…

This article criticizes the term "comorbidity" used to describe the overlap of developmental syndromes or disorders. Data from 179 school-age children are evaluated for criteria of seven disorders. Since fully 50 percent of the sample met the criteria for at least two diagnoses, the premise that these disorders are discrete categories on…

The authors describe a research effort funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention which is addressing the hypothesized link between learning disabilties and juvenile delinquency. (SBH)

A study examined comorbidity of the five federal definition characteristics among 1,352 students already identified as having emotional disturbance (ED). The extent of comorbidity of ED characteristics was related to the criterion for deviance and to each of the selected student variables, particularly school level and educational placement.…

Presented is a state-of-the-art report on individualized programing for the severely multiply handicapped based on questionnaires completed by personnel from 96 programs and site visits to 27 schools. Chapters 1-3 provide a statement of the problem and description of the sample (including demographic data and definitions of deaf-blind and multiply…

The project report provides information relevant to the status, function, and effect of currently used definitions of handicapped children and the diagnostic methods used. An initial section serves as both an introduction to and summary of the process used during the project, and includes project conclusions. Section II contains analyses of…