Recent findings suggest that adding a visual depiction of a nose to virtual reality displays (virtual nose) can reduce motion sickness. If so, this would be a simple intervention that could improve the experience of a variety of VR applications. However, only one peer-reviewed study has reported a benefit from a virtual nose, and the effect was…

This study examines access to, utilization of, and quality of health care for Latino children with autism and other developmental disabilities. We analyze data from the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (N = 4,414 children with autism and other developmental disabilities). Compared with White children, Latino children with…

The prevalence of 15 common obesity-related chronic health conditions was examined in a convenience sample of adolescents, ages 12-18 years old, with mobility and non-mobility limitations (n=208 and 435, respectively). In both groups, overweight adolescents (BMI[greater than or equal to] 85th %ile) had a significantly higher number of…

We examined racial and ethnic disparities in quality of care for children with autism and other developmental disabilities and whether disparities varied for children with autism compared to children with other developmental disabilities. Analyzing data from the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (N = 4,414), we compared…

Purpose: To examine the barriers and difficulties experienced by rural families of children with special health care needs (CSHCN) in caring for their children. Methods: The National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs was used to examine rural-urban differences in types of providers used, reasons CSHCN had unmet health care needs,…

The psychometric characteristics of 12 adults with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) and a group without PWS but with other similar traits were compared. Results found cognitive, behavioral and educational traits often associated with PWS to be present in both groups, illustrating the importance of control/comparison groups in research establishing…

Examined blood lead levels in 1,190 children residing in Mississippi. Found that boys had a higher level than girls, and black children had a higher level than white children. The percentage of children with lead toxicity was 8.5 percent. The winter season had a significantly lower lead level than autumn. (Author/KB)

The California study, based on data from a national survey, compared accuracy and completeness of information on 7,182 chronic health conditions of persons, 17 years of age or older, given in household interviews with diagnostic information given by group medical plan physicians. Overreporting referred to conditions reported in the interview which…

Prominent professionals who had worked with seriously ill children were identified through an automated literature search. The Delphi technique was used to identify components and reach expert consensus on knowledge, attitudes and behavior appropriate for teachers of terminally ill children. Comparisons were then made between the consensus and…

Children and adolescents who had positive Dye Tests for toxoplasmosis had lower performances on all verbal subtests than those with negative Dye Tests. The impairment was comparable to subjects with brain damage. Subjects with congenital sight deficiency and positive Dye Tests showed progressive intellectual impairments. (Author/CM)

Currently, professionals disagree about whether children should be informed about their illnesses and the possibility of their deaths. Some experts feel discussion of these subjects would only upset the children while others feel this knowledge is the children's right and will allay the children's anxieties. What is needed but not available is…

Explored relation of biological and psychosocial risk factors to infant development among pregnant women who had pregestational diabetes, gestational diabetes, or were nondiabetic. Found that infants of diabetic mothers scored lower on the Bayley Scales at 1 year and revealed fewer positive and more negative behaviors than infants of nondiabetic…

The article examines the transition to parenthood that occurs for parents of full-term healthy infants and the similarities and differences in the experiences of parents of technology-assisted infants. Implications for early intervention practice for technology-assisted infants and their families are then discussed. (Author/JDD)

The two studies reported in this paper explored parental development in first-time mothers of handicapped, at-risk, and normal children. Measures of personality, motivation, belief system, knowledge of infant development, and anticipatory socialization (knowledge, beliefs or expectations of parenting) were used to examine differences between the…

Several treatment approaches to cigarette smoking were investigated, including a nicotine fading procedure in which subjects changed their cigarette brand each week to one containing progressively less nicotine and tar; a self-monitoring procedure in which subjects plotted their daily intake of nicotine and tar; a combined nicotine…