Background: People with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) are at risk of being motorically inactive. This study investigated the degree and type of motor activation in daily practice and its relationship to personal and contextual factors. Method: A total of 58 participants with PIMD participated in the study. Data concerning…

The relationship between chronological age, social age, motor, sensory and concept skills, and the orientation and mobility skills of 37 mentally retarded visually impaired children was examined. Results revealed a strong relationship between developmental level in the areas of motor, sensory, and concept skills, and mobility proficiency.…

The programed instruction was validated with 40 multiply impaired blind children in nine facilities in a 16-week field test. The experimental group using the programed instructional materials demonstrated significant overall performance gains over a control group. (Author/DLS)

Two boys (ages 6 and 15) with severe, multiple handicaps participated in social play activities with 10 nonhandicapped fifth graders, who had been trained on interaction with socially withdrawn children. Increases in all participants' socially directed behavior were observed. Both boys with handicaps increased targeted motor responses when…

Effects of a program of motor therapy on the motor ability levels of eight multisensory handicapped children were examined. Participation improved performance for all subjects. The gain scores from pretest to posttest indicated that children with multisensory disabilities may benefit from such a program. (Author)

A 3-year-old (severely retarded and visually impaired) was trained in a program emphasizing functional, age-appropriate visual motor tasks requiring use of vision for successful task completion. Use of a repeated prompting procedure was successful in establishing visual attention, and generalization of visual attention to untrained tasks was…

Presented are papers and proceedings of the National Institute on Program Development and Training in Recreation for Deaf-Blind Children, Youth and Adults (Iowa, 1974). Chapters 1-3 summarize institute participants' views on topics such as normalization, needs, and advocacy for the deaf-blind (DB); report a consumer's, a parent's, a rehabilitation…

To test a programed instruction in orientation and mobility, 44 multiply impaired low vision children and young adults (ages 5 to 28) were instructed over a six-week period. Instruction was in the areas of motor development, sensory training, concept development, and mobility skills. The experimental group using the materials showed significant…

Describes the use of activity boxes with 43 young children with blindness, deaf-blindness, or severe learning disabilities and visual impairments. Discusses the contribution such boxes make to intellectual development, particularly the development of voluntary hand function from the integration of the primitive grasp-and-release instincts shown by…

Presented is the Callier-Azusa Scale designed to aid in the assessment of deaf-blind and multihandicapped children in the areas of motor development, perceptual abilities, daily living skills, language development, and socialization. The scale is said to be predicated on the assumption that given the appropriate environment all children follow the…

The curriculum guide for severely physically and mentally handicapped children includes activities to develop motor skills, self-help skills, communication skills, academic and preacademic skills, and social skills. The curriculum is being used at a school for retarded children in Indianapolis at which 80 percent of the clients have cerebral…

The ability of at-risk and handicapped infants and toddlers to interact with microcomputers was studied. One research phase focused on the parameters (motor, language, and cognitive developmental levels) for using the microcomputer. The overall project examines eight levels of use culminating in using a menu driven program for making choices to…

Three studies that applied quantitative procedures to measure motor and sensory/motor acquisition among handicapped and nonhandicapped infants and children are presented. In addition, a study concerning the replication of the quantitative procedures for assessing rolling behavior is described in a fourth article. The first study, by C. Janssen,…

The Classroom Centers for Multiple Handicapped Children were designed to provide profoundly retarded children with instructional programs meeting individual needs. In addition to the educational and training components of the program, speech and physical therapy services were also included. Seven classroom centers served approximately 56 children…