Advocacy and professional organizations in Alabama collaborated to bring about the formal preparation of regular educators in the identification and instruction of exceptional children. (CL)

The article describes a variation of Usher's Syndrome, a genetic condition characterized by visual and auditory impairments, in which moderate, postlingual, and sometimes progressive hearing impairments may go undetected. Identification guidelines are offered. (Author/CL)

Approaches to identifying, classifying, and placing multiply handicapped hearing impaired students are reviewed, and a model is described in which five factors differentiate among students: instructional objectives, environment, rate, methodology, and staffing. (CL)

Three rating scales--the Conners Parent-Teacher Questionnaire, the Queensland Teacher Questionnaire, and the Pittsburg Adjustment Scale--were used to assess the prevalence of hyperactivity among 1908 elementary children. Rates varied from 5 percent to 8.9 percent, with the overlap going 3.5 percent and the sum of those identified 12 percent. (CL)

The article reviews the origins of the intelligence testing movement in the U.S., discusses the difficulties inherent in measuring intelligence, and considers alternatives to current LD identification procedures. (CL)

In Study 1, 85 percent of 248 third-, fifth-, and twelfth- grade students identified as normal could have been classified learning disabled (LD). In Study 2, 88 percent of a low achieving fourth grade sample could have been identified as LD, with 4 percent not meeting any criteria for classification. (Author/CL)

Implication for special education of rapid increases in technology are dealt with in terms of identification procedures, provisions of environmental supports, changes in the nature of schooling; and preparation for adulthood, challenges for the future, such as insuring equity in access to technological advances, are considered. (CL)

In an effort to assist early childhood professionals to better understand special education practices and procedures in New York State that might affect classroom environment, this paper presents an account of one teacher's search for help with a special needs preschooler. Following a year in which only one-on-one instruction with the boy yielded…

Although it is generally acknowledged in research that handicapped children represent a disproportionate number of abuse and neglect victims, nearly half of the states do not collect any information on "special characteristics." Results suggested a significant lack of services to improve awareness about the influence of exceptionalities in abusive…

The underlying reasons for muddled definitions of emotional disturbance and their resultant befuddled diagnostic processes are discussed in terms of four factors: (1) the impact of theory, (2) societal diversity, (3) benchmarks for decision making, and (4) instrumentation. The author presents a method for diagnosis that is practical, functional,…

The author asserts that the diagnosis learning disability is applied too often and too loosely. It is recommended that the possibility be considered that poor school adjustment may be due simply to immaturity and unreadiness rather than to some general learning disability. (Author/CL)

The author reviews research on early deprivation and neglect and recounts his own experience with children whose dwarfism is attributed to abuse or neglect. The existence of specific learning disability and diminished IQ in many of these children is cited. The author suggests further attention to the problem. (CL)

PANESS total score was reliable and significantly correlated with relevant indices of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. (Author/CL)

Paraprofessionals can be valuable in the education of handicapped students by taking part in assessment and identification, instruction, behavior management, record keeping, parent interaction, career education, and transportation. (CL)

The authors describe their methods for establishing the presence or absence of the fragile-X chromosome and discuss some of the clinical implications of their findings in relation to the clinical diagnosis of autism. (SW)