Recent developments in infant mental health are outlined, with implications for work with at-risk populations. Discussed are: the biobehavioral-developmental perspective, the infant as a social being, the infant-caregiver relationship, the transactional model of the infant-parent relationship, assessing developmental disabilities, conceptualizing…

Examined whether changes in family support and resources would affect parenting stress in families of medically fragile children. Results suggest that changes in support and resources correlate with change in parenting stress. However, for white families, stress changes correlated to child's developmental progress or changes in social support,…

Highlights similarities and differences between the art making of normally developing and mentally retarded individuals. Defines pathological art as outsider art that can never be creative in the sense of relating to the artistic domain and engaging in a creative dialog with other artists that shape that domain. (MJP)

A psychoeducational support group program was established for aging parents of 30 adult offspring with developmental disabilities, of whom 17 resided with the parents. This article describes the program's development, parents' self-reported objectives for participating, comparison of parents with and parents without their offspring at home, and…

A video instructional package including self-assessment, behavior reversal, and self-modeling was used to improve self-help skills of two adolescent boys with developmental disabilities and behavior disorders receiving home instruction. Use of the package increased task fluency, promoted generalized increases in task fluency to other tasks, and…

Increasing numbers of infants and toddlers who were premature, had low birth weight, or experience chronic medical conditions are referred to early intervention services (Bernstein, Heimler, & Sasidharan, 1998). These young children often endure prolonged hospitalizations and are at risk for developmental disabilities by nature of their illnesses,…

Background: Older people with intellectual disabilities (ID) are a growing population but their age-related needs are rarely considered and community services are still geared towards the younger age group. We aimed to examine the mental health and social care needs of this new service user group. Methods: We identified all adults with ID without…

Results from a qualitative inquiry investigating conceptualization of family quality of life are provided. Focus groups and individual interviews were comprised of 187 individuals that included family members (e.g., parents, siblings) of children with a disability, eight individuals with a disability, family members of children without a…

This report describes Phase II of a project which developed a system for delivering fire safety training to board and care providers who serve adults with developmental disabilities. Phase II focused on developing and pilot testing a "train the trainers" workshop for instructors and field testing the provider's workshop. Evaluation of…

In focus group interviews, 39 parents of children (ages birth to 21 years) with developmental disabilities, emotional disorders, and technology-supported needs shared their perspectives regarding special needs, crisis situations, and parent/professional relationships. The purpose of the study was to determine what is necessary to keep children…

This information rich "How To" guide presents ways to help elderly persons with developmental disabilities find and use generic community programs for senior citizens. It discusses successful methodologies, addresses programmatic features, and offers ideas to improve accessibility and resources at the community level. The information is…

These three papers report preliminary findings of an early intervention collaboration study on developmentally vulnerable infants and their families in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Subjects, 190 infants with Down syndrome, motor impairment, or developmental delays of unknown etiology, were recruited from 29 community-based early intervention…

This report presents a conceptual framework for developing, reviewing, and evaluating transitional living programs (TLPs) for homeless adolescents. It is designed to be used by those in the field who are or will be developing such programs. All TLPs share basic elements and each of these is described so that TLP providers can understand what their…

This report presents an external summative evaluation plan for the Self-Directed Workplace Distance Learning for Developmental Disabilities Workers Project, a partnership between the Center for Advanced Study of Education and the Civil Service Employees Association, Inc., with the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental…

An external summative evaluation was conducted for the Self-Directed Workplace Distance Learning for Developmental Disabilities Workers Project, a partnership between the Center for Advanced Study of Education and the Civil Service Employees Association, Inc., with the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. Its…