In the support of individuals with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD), assessing the level of alertness is a recurring issue for parents and other direct support persons. Although observations show clear advantages above and beyond other assessment methods, there are problems related to this method as well. Subjectivity of…

There is extensive discussion on the quality of education and support for individuals with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) in relation to inclusion and full citizenship. The discussions are complicated because of differences or lack of clarity in the description of the variations and types of PIMD. A description of the core…

A case study of a difficult to manage nonspeaking young man with brain injury is presented. Assessment and intervention indicated severe cognitive-linguistic deficits, severe physical involvement of all extremities, extensive surgical management, visual perceptual and acuity deficits, and behavioral problems. (Author/DB)

The representativeness of behavioral observation samples with durations of less than the whole time of interest was investigated with five profoundly mentally retarded physically handicapped adults in an institutional setting. It was found that the session representativeness was a function of the relative duration of the behavioral categories and…

This article describes addition of a "learn a routine" procedure to functional visual assessments of children with severe neurological and physical disabilities. The procedure capitalizes on the child's interest of the moment and provides information on the child's patterns of responses, ability to accommodate to variations of a stimulus, and…

Existing instruments for assessing brain damaged physically handicapped children are examined, and research on test modifications in the cognitive, communication, and motor performance domains is reviewed. Noted is the lack of tests standardized on a physically handicapped population. Cautions and criticisms are cited for modifications which have…

This manual describes the Wisconsin Sensorimotor Pointing Assessment (WSPA) for individuals with severe communication deficits complicated by other cognitive or motor disabilities, and provides guidelines for its administration. The WSPA was designed to quantify four categories of sensory and motor abilities necessary for initiating and accurately…

This article discusses issues involved in psychological assessment of children with hearing loss who have additional disabilities or special needs. It provides recommendations for appropriate methods of assessment that accommodate the communication difficulties associated with hearing loss. This article includes assessment procedures for children…

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…