Background: Although impaired social-emotional ability is a hallmark of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the perceptual skills and mediating strategies contributing to the social deficits of autism are not well understood. A perceptual skill that is fundamental to effective social communication is the ability to accurately perceive and interpret…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) report difficulty integrating simultaneously presented visual and auditory stimuli (Iarocci & McDonald, 2006), albeit showing enhanced perceptual processing of unisensory stimuli, as well as an enhanced role of perception in higher-order cognitive tasks (Enhanced Perceptual Functioning (EPF) model;…

The perception of intent in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) often relies on synthetic animacy displays. This study tests intention perception in ASD via animacy stimuli derived from human motion. Using a forced choice task, 28 participants (14 ASDs; 14 age and verbal-I.Q. matched controls) categorized displays of Chasing, Fighting, Flirting,…

Several groups have recently reported that people with autism may suffer from a deficit in visual motion processing and proposed that these deficits may be related to a general dorsal stream dysfunction. In order to test the dorsal stream deficit hypothesis, we investigated coherent and biological motion perception as well as coherent form…

Whether cross-sectional rates of decline for brain volume and the Performance Intellectual Quotient of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised were equivalent over the years 16 to 65 was studied with 196 volunteers. Results indicate remarkably similar rates of decline in perceptual-motor functions and aging brain volume loss. (SLD)

The paper reviews contributions of J. Piaget and others to the understanding of perception's importance in the cognitive development of mentally retarded children. The effects of poor discrimination learning on IQ scores are noted. (CL)

A multiple baseline across behaviors design was used to evaluate the efficacy of embedded instruction with 3 students with developmental disabilities who were enrolled in general education classes. Two general education teachers and 1 paraprofessional delivered embedded instruction to students during regularly scheduled instructional activities.…

Both forms of the Muller-Lyer illusion were presented to the normal and retarded subjects to determine possible changes in illusion strength in either or both forms of the illusion when age, amount of repetition, and IQ were varied. (Author/ED)

The purpose of this study was to measure the interrelationships of students' perceptions of their school environment, IQ, and teacher ratings of students as they correlate with reading achievement. An Environmental Press Instrument (EPI) consisting of four subtests measuring View of Self, View of School, How I Think My Teacher Views Me, and How I…

Two groups of children (n=107, ages 6-14) who had recovered from meningitis were compared. Children who had sustained neurologic complications during their illness had a lower mean Performance Intelligence Quotient and performed less well on perceptually demanding neuropsychological tasks than did "uncomplicated" children. (Author/JDD)

Williams syndrome, a genetic disorder caused by a microdeletion of approximately 25 genes on chromosome 7q11.23, is associated with mild to moderate intellectual disability or learning difficulties. Most individuals with Williams syndrome evidence a cognitive profile including relative strengths in verbal short-term memory and language, and…

Supporting previous findings, a strong relationship is found to exist between perceived teacher evaluation and both academic self-concept and level of academic aspiration. (Author)

A recent article by Prawat and Jarvis (1980) reported a lack of support for the hypothesis that teachers' perceptions of students are sex-biased. A closer inspection shows the interpretation of multiple regression analysis is inaccurate. More satisfactory interpretations are considered. (Author/PN)

TO HELP TEACHERS WORK WITH CHILDREN WHO ARE SOCIAL ISOLATES IN THE CLASSROOM, 800 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS WERE ASKED TO NAME 3 CHILDREN (1) WITH WHOM THEY WOULD LIKE TO PLAY AND DO THINGS AFTER SCHOOL, AT RECESS, AND AT NOON, (2) WITH WHOM THEY WOULD LIKE TO WORK IN THE ROOM, (3) BESIDE WHOM THEY WOULD MOST LIKE TO SIT, (4) BESIDE WHOM THEY…

The relationships between intellectual and demographic variables of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) were examined. Subjects were 2,200 children in the WISC-R standardization sample. Four multiple regression analyses were performed between Full Scale and Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization, and Freedom from…