A contract approach specifying long and short term objectives is part of an overall treatment approach for students whose learning and attention skills are inconsistent. Additional program efforts include allergy and food assessment, medication assessment and trial (if appropriate), and attention to the child's biochemical functioning. (CL)

A survey on the methods and system of detecting hearing loss in infants in Canada's Maritime Provinces is reported, and results are related to other research in Canada and the United States. Results are said to show inadequate detection. Recommendations, including increased collaboration between health and education professionals, are made. (CL)

An examination of the way in which Ss were selected in research from 1968 through 1978 on behaviorally disordered students points out imprecision in methodology. The author suggests using control groups and follow-up procedures and emphasizes the need to theorize less while collecting more data. (CL)

The study of the relationship between physical characteristics and behavior is placed in historical context. Current research concerned with the implications of minor physical anomalies is reviewed. Anomalies, measurement considerations, relationship between anomalies and selected characteristics, methodological issues, and underlying assumptions…

The long-standing clinical lore which holds that a discrepancy between Wechsler-Bellevue Verbal-Performance Scale weighted scores is a more sensitive sign of lateralized brain damage than a discrepancy between Verbal-Performance Scale IQ is investigated. The results do not support the clinical lore. (Author/AL)

Beery contends that the Visual-motor Integration Test can be used to identify learning disability as a result of a deficit in visual-motor integration. The results of this study show that no or low correlation exists when the test is administered to three-year-old children. (Author/AL)

A management system is developed to aid the communication disorders specialist in diagnosis, case load selection, and service delivery in Head Start programs. Three priority levels are established that are consistent with the Head Start definition of a communication disorder with Head Start program philosophy. (Author)

Report by the Education Advocates Coalition which compiles information regarding the practice of assigning minority students to classes for educable mentally retarded children. Discusses the refusal of the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped to remedy this situation. (MK)

To examine the concurrent and construct validity of the Slingerland Screening Tests (SST) for Children with Specific Language Disability in the assessment of learning disabilities, 382 children in grades 1 through 4 were given both the SST and an IQ test. The SST errors were significantly negatively correlated with IQ scores. (Author)

An overview is presented of a project to identify and follow-up visual problems in students at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID). (Author)

The article examines the issues raised by 51 Massachusetts due process appeals in which parents of handicapped children appealed for more appropriate placements within the public schools. Results are discussed in terms of identification issues, issues related to educational or related services, and placement. (DB)

The relationship between child age and mean length of utterance measured in morphemes (MLU) was studied in a sample of 123 middle to upper middle class midwestern children, aged 17 to 59 months, conversing with mothers in free play. A significant correlation was found between age and MLU: r=.88. (Author)

Three major problems are discussed in relation to helping disturbed children: assessment practices, the nature of emotional disturbance, and the treatment of emotional problems. The need for objectively defining emotional problems and rationally designing programs to meet individual child needs is stressed. (Author)

A comparison study involving 50 second-through-fifth graders was designed to analyze the relationships between the incidence of visual abnormalities and high and low academic achievement. Data suggested that children with deficient visual skills may experience greater problems academically. (SBH)