Bell's palsy is the most common condition affecting facial nerves. It is an acute, rapidly progressing, idiopathic, unilateral facial paralysis that is generally self-limiting and non-life threatening that occurs in all age groups (Okuwobi, Omole, & Griffith, 2003). The school nurse may be the first person to assess facial palsy and muscle…

A description of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is included in the "Diagnostic Manual of the American Psychiatric Association" fourth edition ("DSM-IV-TR"). The major feature of this condition is impairment in motor skill, which has a negative impact on the performance of everyday life tasks. The present review outlines major issues…

An audit was carried out to gain an overview of the profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) population in a local health trust to inform current and future service provision. An overview of the issues faced in developing clear defining criteria is presented. Published definitions of PMLD were used to identify clients from data held on…

Since the reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (2004), the use of Response to Intervention (RTI) in the identification of students suspected of having learning disabilities has been legitimized. Several professional organizations, including the International Reading Association (IRA), have recognized the importance of…

This study sought to determine the relation between Instructional Consultants' communication skills and competence using videotapes of simulated Problem Identification interviews. A quantitative analysis identified the frequencies of questions and alternatives to questions used, and the qualitative analysis examined the content of the…

Establishing the cut-off scores for Autism Spectrum Disorder-Diagnostic (ASD-DA) scale for adults with intellectual disability (ID) and autism or PDD-NOS was the primary goal of this investigation. The aim of Study 1 was to determine if the ASD-DA was able to differentiate between adults with ID with and without an autism spectrum disorder, and to…

Each year the members of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee identify recent research findings that made the most impact on the field. For the 2009 Summary of Advances, the IACC selected and summarized 20 studies that gave significant insight into the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the biology of the disorder, potential…

Objectives: The objectives are to explore the experience of living with a person who has undergone a process of diagnosis in his or her adult years and to examine, from the partner's perspective, how diagnosis and treatment with medication affects the ADHD patients' understanding of themselves, their behavior, and their relationships with others.…

Accurate identification of young children at risk for mental health problems is a key step in establishing early childhood preventive intervention programs. Without psychometrically valid identification procedures, children in need of early intervention may not be identified and may not receive appropriate care. This article provides a review of…

A humorous satire on the proliferation of categories of exceptionalities, the article parodies current research by discussing the problem of disappearing exceptionalities in relation to imaginary interviews, research programs, and teacher reactions. (GW)

Research on the prevalence of handicaps among juvenile delinquents has been sporadic, and results inconsistent. Nevertheless, taken together the studies suggest that a high percentage of young offenders are indeed handicapped, and that the prevalence of certain disabilities may be much greater among this population than among the general…

The article presents results from a large sample of referred and learning disabled children and interprets them as being consistent with the contention that learning disability is a viable concept that can be meaningfully used. The author rejects the premature elimination of the concept in favor of more general constructs, such as low achievement.…

The final session of the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities (NRCLD) Responsiveness-to-Intervention (RTI) Symposium, "What are alternative models to LD identification other than RTI?" included four papers that discussed concerns over the exclusive reliance on an RTI approach to learning disability identification, considerations for…

A new book in the Knowledge Essential series, "School Success for Children with Special Needs" offers parents a guide for understanding and navigating the often-confusing special education system to ensure that their children get the best education possible. It tells them: (1) How to know if a child has physical, learning, or emotional…

When Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act in 2004 (IDEIA 2004), local educational agencies (LEA) were permitted to use a Response-to-Intervention (RtI) approach for identifying children with possible learning disabilities for special education. Furthermore, IDEIA 2004 no longer required LEAs to establish an…