Investigated were J. Piaget's ideas of the sensory motor stage of intelligence by determining whether six developmentally delayed children (aged 21 to 31 months) could use two different strategies appropriately to look for two different tokens. (Author/DB)

A four-phase project to validate a graduate psychology training program in delopmental disabilities included development of a questionnaire, a survey of 94 professionals who rated competency areas, validation of subskills within each area, and revision of the final 15 competency areas. (CL)

For 80 developmentally disabled children (ages 6-10), scores on the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests correlated moderately and significantly with IQ. Abstract reading skills correlated more fully with WISC-R Full Scale IQ than did concrete skills. The emotional importance of concrete learning patterns to these children is noted. (Author/SJL)

Letters were sent to 27 directors of sheltered workshops serving the developmentally disabled requesting their suggestions for topics considered relevant for the inservice training of direct line staff. The area of concern most frequently selected and rated as highest priority by direct line staff was ways to deal with the low-functioning client.…

Investigated the role of sensory reinforcement in motivation of rituals. Assessed the effect of sensory extinction for two children. Results showed light-switching rituals decreased when a certain sensory consequence was removed, then increased when that consequence was reintroduced. Different sensory consequences were functional for the children.…

A life career education program for 35 elementary multiply handicapped retarded students resulted in positive changes in areas of academics, communication, interest, self-concept, self-help, and task performance. (CL)

Individual Program Plans (n=163) from adults with developmental disabilities receiving community living support services in Australia were analyzed. While plans prepared by nongovernmental agencies were generally superior to governmental agency plans, the average level of plan presentation was poor. Only 14% of the plans offered any criterion for…

Seventeen patients with Asperger syndrome (AS) and a mean IQ of 97 were compared with a control group of 13 patients with normal intelligence or high-functioning autism. Results found that pedantic speech was common in the patients with AS and may help differentiate AS from high-functioning autism. (Author/CR)

Relations between self-injurious behavior (SIB), the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) stress axis, and response to an opiate antagonist were examined in 31 individuals with severe/profound neurodevelopmental disabilities. A significant number of subjects reduced SIB after receiving naltrexone supporting reports that the HPA axis is disturbed…

A functional analysis examined the consequences that maintained episodic self-injury and the relationship between those consequences and otitis media for a 26-month-old child with developmental disabilities. Results indicated that self-injury occurred only during periods of otitis media and may have served as a sensory escape function. (Author/CR)

This study investigated the effects of health care financing on the utilization and cost of services for people with developmental disabilities (n=22,986). Hospital admissions data was collected for alternate years between 1983 and 1991 and compared to the data for the nondisabled population of New Jersey. (Author/CR)

This paper reviews recent literature on health issues for adults with developmental disabilities, reflecting on how it informs service provision, future research, and social and health policy. Results suggest future research should focus on interactions among biology, pathology, and behavioral and environmental determinants. More use of…

United Methodist Family Services of Virginia placed 41 developmentally disabled children in adoptive homes between August 1985 and June 1988. Efforts of the program's caseworkers to find potential adoptive families and obstacles to the placement of the children, are discussed. (BG)

Discusses how and why older persons with developmental disabilities have emerged as special category. Discussion makes reference to social systems theory, reviews social systems theory, and presents basic systemic tenets. Uses these tenets to examine historical development of social gerontology and present trends in service delivery system.…

Addresses the prevalence and implications of the mentally ill, developmentally disabled, substance abuser, and other mentally impaired offenders in the jail system. Argues for more systematic attention by service providers in the community and criminal justice personnel to the disabling conditions that may precipitate and reinforce criminal…