Data are considered for 152 children (ages 2 months to 6 years) who underwent brief developmental evaluation and referrals in response to parents' concerns. Members of a multidisciplinary team simultaneously observed and interacted with the children in an arena setting. Data largely confirmed parents' perceptions of their children's development.…

Diagnostic and treatment histories of 85 children and adolescents served in 2 exemplary school-based day-treatment programs in California were analyzed. Findings suggest a significant lag time between first symptoms, referral for services, and treatment; marked instability of psychiatric diagnoses over time; and lack of concordance between…

A naturalistic probe of early language content was administered to 31 normally developing preschool children. The productivity of 3 different strategies for eliciting 27 content categories was tested and the efficiency of the probe technique compared with analysis of language samples. Results suggest this nonstandardized, criterion-referenced…

The performance of reading-disabled, math-disabled, slow-learning, under-achieving, and normal-achieving children (total n=143) was compared on verbal and visual-spatial working memory measures under initial, gain, and maintenance testing conditions. Ability group classifications changed under dynamic testing conditions. The study demonstrated the…

Because eligibility for speech-language services often is based on the relationship between the child's cognitive ability and language performance, this study examined the agreement of measurement practices used in the cognitive referencing model of eligibility determination. Administration of 5 measures to 26 preschool children with delayed…

In examining the continuing problem of the disproportionate number of minority students in special education, this article urges implementation of experimentally validated interventions including: (1) early detection, primary interventions, and prereferral procedures and (2) academic as well as social competence, resiliency, and self-determination…

Considers the nature of giftedness, including definitions of giftedness as they affect the self, different worlds at the extremes of intelligence, the psychology of exceptionality, identification of exceptionality, and the frequent misidentification of gifted children as having attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The need to identify hidden…

Asserts that, as identification of hearing loss in infancy becomes increasingly common due to universal newborn screening, early interventionists will need to forge links to health-care providers, to have specialized training in deafness and hearing loss, and to have expertise in providing services to very young children and to children with mild…

A case study of an adolescent with catatonia superimposed on autism is presented. The symptoms of the patient are highlighted and include abnormal social interactions, deficits in symbolic play and in communicative language, and occurrence of hallucinations and delusions. Treatment of the patient with clozapine and lorasepam is described. (CR)

This investigation compared the performances of 24 African American children (mean age 6) with language impairments (LI) to typically developing African American peers on five traditional informal language assessment measures. Performances of the LI children were significantly lower on all measures than typically developing peers. Implications for…

This study compared parent and teacher perceptions of academic performance and cognitive deficits with the standardized test performance of 19 students (ages 7-13) with hearing impairments. Results indicate that parents and educators were equally skilled in predicting academic performance, but had greater difficulty predicting specific cognitive…

This study investigated early clinical differences between 27 children (ages 0-4) with pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified and 27 children with attention deficit disorder. Results revealed almost no differences between both groups with respect to pregnancy or birth complications and suggest that differences become more…

A sample of 150 children referred to child-study teams were administered intelligence tests. One-third of White students and slightly over half of Black and Hispanic students scored in the borderline IQ range (71-85). Of those borderline students who subsequently received special education, the majority were served as learning disabled. (Author/CR)

This study surveyed routine language screening practices for infants and toddlers of 41 physicians in an urban and surrounding rural area. Findings indicated that all physician offices screened for language development with some using the Denver Developmental Scale and others using informal tools. Findings are discussed in the context of the…

Presents a diminutive overview of research and a case study of Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS), a rare, genetically complex congenital disorder. Prenatal diagnosis of this case included omphalocele, hydonephrosis, and possible horseshoe kidney, detected by ultrasound. The characteristics of this disability and related problems are discussed.…