As the result of inservice training and public information efforts in the Fremont (California) Unified School District, 138 children were referred to the district's program for visually impaired students over a 3 1/2 year period. (Author)

The article places in perspective the evolution of curriculum or instructional programs for the mildly handicapped adolescent, identifies several major influences on current practices, and examines the assumptions underlying assessment and intervention in the context of intensive instruction. (DLS)

The investigation explored the use of R. Cattell's ability traits (fluid and crystallized intelligence, visualization, and fluency) as a method of comparing 45 normal, learning disabled (LD), or educable mentally retarded (EMR) children (ages 7 to 9). (Author/PHR)

Three aspects of the learning strategies model are discussed: its philosophy (that intervention should be based on principles of cognitive psychology and learning); its major components (including identification, decision making, and cooperative planning); and its application to a 15-year-old LD student. (CL)

The case study of a 12-year-old boy, originally diagnosed as hearing impaired and in need of socialization, is reported to demonstrate the effects of misdiagnosis. The child was later diagnosed as autistic and more useful interventions were initiated. (PHR)

Describes the role social service agencies can play in the early detection of potential handicaps in preschool children. (BD)

Describes current child-count systems that count students with visual impairments and additional disabilities in only one disability area. This results in an undercount of the incidence of visual impairment. Discusses the need for children to be initially counted by the disability of the lowest incidence. (CR)

Discusses developmental apraxia of speech (DAS), a putative diagnostic category for children whose speech errors differ from errors of children with developmental speech delay and resemble errors of adults with acquired apraxia of speech. A study of 148 children with language impairments investigated the diagnosis of DAS. (Author/CR)

This article addresses the proposal of Shaw and others (1995) to replace the current federal definition of learning disabilities with an operationalized version proposed by the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities in the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Comparison of Shaw's recommendations with…

Measures of transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) reproducibility were obtained for 506 ears of 260 children and young adults. Findings suggest that TEOAEs provide useful information in routine clinical practice and may be employed to screen for the presence of hearing loss in children and young adults. (DB)

This paper offers guidelines to compare the characteristics observed in children with autism and blindness and those observed in children with blindness alone. It distinguishes between stereotypic behaviors (blindisms) in blind individuals and similar stereotypic behaviors of children with autism. A table presents typical behavior patterns of…

This study found that states with low percentages of students identified as learning disabled (LD) used a diagnostic method for determining a severe discrepancy, whereas few states identifying the most students used such a method. Use of a method to determine a severe discrepancy may reduce inappropriate labeling of students as LD. (Author/JDD)

Cluster analysis of data from 166 children with autistic spectrum disorders revealed 4 subtypes with differences in behavioral and cognitive areas. The four subtypes include a typically autistic group, a low-functioning group, a high-functioning group (Asperger syndrome/schizoid), and a hard-to-diagnose group with mild/moderate retardation and a…

This study found that motor impairment levels of 12 Asperger syndrome children and 9 high functioning autistic children (ages 7-17) did not differ. Intelligence level was negatively correlated with motor impairment. Fifty percent of Asperger children and 67% of children with autism showed a clinically significant level of motor impairment.…

A review of the literature on gifted students with learning disabilities concludes that the literature is presently unable to provide empirically based guidelines for identifying and serving children who are both gifted and learning disabled. Several key problems are discussed, including identification, characteristics, and intervention.…