This study aimed at supporting the specificity of learning hypothesis, when aiming was based on internal cues, as directing the hand toward a "self-defined" target location. Participants practiced modest (20 trials) or intensive (720 trials) training with visual and proprioceptive information or proprioceptive information only. Pretests and…

We investigate the dynamics of sensory integration for perceiving musical performance, a complex natural behavior. Thirty musically trained participants saw, heard, or both saw and heard, performances by two clarinetists. All participants used a sliding potentiometer to make continuous judgments of tension (a measure correlated with emotional…

A holistic approach to pragmatic ability and disability is outlined which takes account both of the behaviour of individuals involved in the communicative process, and also of the underlying factors which contribute to such behaviour. Rather than being seen as resulting directly from a dysfunction in some kind of discrete pragmatic "module" or…

Sensory functioning has long been considered crucial in the life of people with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) (Gillberg, C., & Coleman, M. (1992). "The Biology of Autistic Syndromes" (2nd ed.). London: Mac Keith press.) However, much of the research is methodologically flawed and based on child populations and adults' retrospective accounts (O…

Attentional requirements for the spontaneous integration of stimulus and response features were analyzed. In line with previous findings, carrying out a prepared response to the onset of a stimulus created bindings between the response and the features of that stimulus, thereby impairing subsequent performance on mismatching stimulus-response…

According to even the most conservative estimates, at least a quarter of deaf children have additional disabilities. Most teacher preparation programs do not sufficiently prepare teacher candidates for the challenges posed by these children. This article describes a professional development effort to prepare in-service educators of the deaf to…

This review of nonstandard treatments as they relate to individuals with mental retardation reveals attempts to increase intelligence and make individuals "normal." Covering the early 1930s through the present, the review addresses: cell therapy, electric shock, behavior modification, vitamin B-6 therapy, Doman-Delacato treatment,…

An experiment was designed to demonstrate that infants as young as 3 months of age would show face/voice coordination in matched and mismatched conditions if exposure trials were extended to 1 minute in duration. A total of 16 infants participated in each of four experimental conditions. Conditions were (1) mother present with mother's voice…

Modality research is of major importance to the field of reading; it has directed attention to three factors: intersensory transfer, intersensory perceptual shifting, and modal preference. This paper provides a critical review of the most pertinent research relating each of these factors to reading achievement. No attempt is made to review studies…

Presents Sylvia Ashton-Warner's (known for the organic education scheme and Key Vocabulary) message for American teachers. (AS)

Auditory visual information equivalence in 15 mentally retarded and 15 intellectually average 12- to 13-year-olds found retarded subjects were more accurate on intra- than on intersensory tasks, whereas there was no such difference for average subjects. Tasks involving transposition were more difficult than others for the retarded children.…

In a response to a critique of studies on the use of sensory integration therapy with mentally retarded persons, the article claims that sensory integration therapy is based upon a solid foundation of established knowledge in the neurosciences. (DB)

In a response to a critique of studies on the use of sensory integration therapy with mentally retarded persons, the article criticizes the original authors for finding fault with the theory of sensory integration rather than reviewing research on sensory integration. (DB)

The relative effects of individualized sensory integrative therapy vs small group, gross motor programs were examined with 44 handicapped preschoolers with motor delays. No significance between group differences were observed in gross motor gains or in sensorimotor gains. (Author/CL)