Predictive value of maternal age and education in relation to rates of mental retardation in a 3-year-birth cohort (n=267,277) was studied. Low maternal education placed individuals at increased risk for both educable mentally handicapped and trainable mentally handicapped placement. Older maternal age was associated with increased risk of mental…

This article discusses six criteria for justifying universal infant hearing screening, including: significant consequences must result when the disorder is not detected, programs must be available, accessible, and cost-effective, and birth-admission screening must result in an improved outcome. It concludes that universal detection of infant…

Two studies used a scaling approach to measure components of modifiability in children. Modifiability differentiated between children having low language ability and typically developing children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Furthermore, the individual components of modifiability, with the exception of motivation,…

This study evaluated application of a revised criterion for the Language Development Survey, a parent-report screening measure designed to identify young children with language delays. The revised criterion generated fewer false positives, improved specificity, and improved positive predictive value while maintaining the high sensitivity and high…

It is argued the proposed definition of dyslexia is restricted to developmental dyslexia in which a student struggles to learn to read and does not apply to acquired dyslexia in which a previously normal reader loses reading functions. The need for classification schemes for defining specific learning disabilities is emphasized. (Contains…

This study compared the working memory abilities of children identified as having special educational needs with those making normal academic progress at ages 7 and 8. Special needs children showed marked working memory impairments, especially on tasks tapping central executive functions. Results have implications for identifying children at risk…

To examine the possibility of gender bias in special education referral and admission, this study reviewed records of 695 students admitted to special education over 3 years. Findings support the hypothesis that males are not necessarily overrepresented in the special education population but, instead, females who could benefit from special…

An ecological niche framework (Hacking, 1998) is utilised to examine the growth of ADHD in North America. The analysis suggests ADHD flourishes, at least in part, due to a complex and historically situated interaction of factors that created a niche within which a particular kind of explanation and treatment for the troubling behaviours of…

Using U.S. Department of Education data, the current study examined changes in the rates of special education eligibility classifications. This was done to determine if classification substitution might be an explanation for increases in the number of students being found eligible for special education using the Autism criteria. Results reveal…

Objective: To investigate parents' experiences of surveillance for early talking difficulties. Design: Qualitative study nested within a randomised controlled trial. Setting: Interviews with the parents of 20 children identified as having early difficulties. Results: Most parents were in favour of surveillance of children's language. Parents do…

There is little research into emergency presentations in child and adolescent mental health. The purpose of this study was to obtain an overview of number and types of presentations to a inner London child and adolescent mental health emergency service and to determine immediate and longer-term service demands. All available data on 107…

Despite the importance of early intervention for most disorders to minimize potential deleterious lifetime effects for the individuals concerned, there is currently no universally accepted protocol for the early screening, identification, and assessment of specific learning disabilities, and no consistent age at which initial diagnosis occurs. In…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare judgments of stuttering made by students and clinicians with previously available judgments made by highly experienced judges in stuttering. Method: On two occasions, 41 university students and 31 speech-language pathologists judged the presence or absence of stuttering in each of 216 audiovisually…

When developmental concerns arise in children, a clinical assessment focuses on the child's developmental profile to achieve three goals (1) determine diagnosis, (2) develop interventions, and (3) evaluate progress. Parents often have needs during this time that are not addressed by professionals because of the exclusive focus on the child during…

Identifying health problems in people with severe and profound disabilities and genetic syndromes can be problematic, and unidentified or unmanaged health problems may adversely impact an individual's quality of life. The authors studied carer-reported contemporary health problems in three genetic syndromes (Angelman, Cornelia de Lange, and Cri du…