A study in the United Kingdom assessed the lifestyles of 19 elderly people with developmental disabilities residing in two community-based homes after living for many years in large institutions. A questionnaire assessing daily life, community-based activities, domestic tasks, and areas of personal responsibility found a generally good quality of…

This study, with 61 Israeli parents of children with developmental disabilities, found that parental inclination to apply for out-of-home placement was a function of stress levels, sense of coherence, and social support received from formal and informal resources. (Author/DB)

This study examined differences in sensory-motor, cognitive, and verbal impairment between 10 Japanese preschool children with Asperger Syndrome (AS) 10 children with high functioning autism (HFA) using the Japanese version of the Miller Assessment for Preschoolers. AS children surpassed HFA children in verbal skills but HFA children were better…

We live at a time when the Internet is used increasingly for communication, for information, and for the exchange of goods and services. Questions arise about how people with learning disabilities make use of this new technology. In this article, Bjorn Harrysson, with two of his colleagues, A. Svensk and G. I. Johansson, from the Department of…

The aim was to explore the comorbidity between Angelman syndrome and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Identification of autism in children with Angelman syndrome presents a diagnostic challenge. In the present study, 16 children with Angelman syndrome, all with a 15q11-13 deletion, were examined for ASDs. Thirteen children with Angelman syndrome…

The origin and developmental course of stereotypic and self-injurious behaviour among individuals with developmental disabilities such as intellectual disability (ID) or pervasive development disorders such as autism is not well understood. Twelve studies designed to document the prevalence, nature, or development of stereotypic and/or…

Over the past decade, cognitive approaches with children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) have been investigated. Although studies have focused on intervention outcomes, few have documented the components of the approach that support the enhancement of children's performance. This study used systematic observation of videotaped…

We are delighted to welcome you to the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends 2014, taking place in Porto, Portugal, from 4 to 6 of April. Psychology, in our time, offers a large range of scientific fields where it can be applied. The goal of understanding individuals and groups (mental functions and behavioral…

Longitudinal analyses on normal versus impaired functioning across 7 domains were conducted in children who had experienced profound institutional deprivation up to the age of 42 months and were adopted from Romania into U.K. families. Comparisons were made with noninstitutionalized children adopted from Romania and with nondeprived within-U.K.…

This report studied the cases of 826 infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities from 1988 to 1995 and the role of the facilities in identifying and referring the children to a rehabilitation center in Higashi-Osaka City, Japan. A list of the classification of main developmental disabilities is provided, along with a table showing the…

From the notion that people construct their realities, it follows that people are writers of the texts that they experience and call life, although in some scenes people may have greater or lesser authorship. In schools and educational systems, administrators have the power to write other persons' narratives. In creating educational texts, the…

Assesses which organizational structures and climate variables were related to agency success in placing developmentally disabled children for adoption. One hundred ninety-nine public and private agencies in the United States and Canada participated in the study. Overall, decisiveness was an important agency variable in placement. Variables for…

The United Kingdom literature on effects of deinstitutionalization of adults with developmental disabilities from 1980 to 1994 was reviewed. Analysis generally associated smaller, community-based residential services with improvements in user engagement, adaptive behaviors and challenging behaviors, community acceptance and integration,…

A study examined the behavior of 8 Israeli children (ages 2-4) with developmental disabilities and maladaptive behavior who were exposed to direct lighting with unshielded standard fluorescent lamps vs. indirect diffuse full spectrum fluorescent lamps. The duration of adaptive behaviors was significantly higher under the indirect lighting.…

A 10-week course designed to assist adults of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent with profound developmental disabilities to function more effectively was evaluated. Issues emerged concerning the lack of lead-time for course set-up, the inappropriateness of the curriculum, and communication and logistical difficulties. (Author/DB)