Two studies of the unintelligible speech of developmentally delayed children found that more intelligible child speech was found in routine than in nonroutine situations and that extracted utterances were more intelligible under context-information-present conditions. (35 references) (Author/CB)

Barriers to cooperation between aging agencies and the developmental disabilities system include (1) unfamiliar language, philosophy, and priorities; (2) debate over numbers of older adults with developmental disabilities; (3) funding and operational differences; (4) lack of clear-cut goals; (5) differences in perceived benefits of cooperating;…

Paired and group presentation methods of preference testing were compared with eight adults with severe-profound developmental disabilities. Each presentation method was also compared with staff rankings of learners' preferences. Similar preferences were identified with both methods. Staff preference rankings were not highly correlated with those…

This study examined the community activities and social networks of 512 people with developmental disabilities living in communities in Wales. Results indicated that subjects were engaged in a wide range of community activities but that opportunities for wider interactions or friendships with nondisabled people were limited. (DB)

Presents overview of research on older adults with mental retardation, focusing on identification of the population, residential options, and service needs. Discusses similarities and differences between older persons with developmental disabilities and nonretarded elderly. Provides recommendations for future research. (Author/NB)

Defines goals of family-centered case management as empowerment of parents as caretakers and planners for their children. Describes model employing master's level social work case managers who serve rural Appalachian families with developmentally disabled children. Includes case illustration that delineates both case management activities and…

Utilizes fathers (N=3) and their developmentally disabled children, who ranged in age from 2 years 10 months to 4 years 5 months, to explore the impact of parent training. Also examines child compliance and inappropriate behaviors. Parent training resulted in desirable changes on a range of target behaviors. Discusses implications of the findings.…

This study examined the inter-rater reliability of clinician-assigned diagnosis of autism using or not using the criteria specified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV (DSM-IV). For experienced raters there was little difference in reliability in the two conditions. However, a clinically significant improvement in diagnostic reliability…

An intervention had three phases: (1) a worker who was taught instructional skills then taught a disabled worker a new task; (2) the nondisabled workers encouraged others to interact with the disabled worker; and (3) the disabled worker was taught appropriate conversational exchanges. Coworker instruction alone did not increase the disabled…

This article discusses how commonly used police interrogation techniques may result in coerced, false confessions by individuals with mental retardation and urges human service agencies and police departments to communicate with each other. It describes a nine-step interrogation technique and the authoritative pressures to which individuals with…

This paper considers the measurement of person-centered planning with developmentally disabled individuals. It reports on the development of three instruments to assess person-centered planning and both a process and an outcome index. Psychometric evaluation indicated test-retest reliability and measures of internal consistency were adequate.…

This article describes the autism surveillance activities of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It considers why surveillance to track prevalence of autistic disorders is needed, how such surveillance is conducted, and the special challenges of autism surveillance. (DB)

Predictors of formal service utilization, waiting list use, and caregiving burden were assessed over a 4-year time period for 305 mothers of an adult child with mental retardation. Predictor variables included: residential status, burden, child behaviors at baseline, child placement; formal service use, co-residence at baseline, waiting list use,…

Behaviors that are appropriate, inappropriate, or a combination of both can be linked together in a behavior chain. When the contingencies for one response change (e.g., reinforcement is withheld for the last response in the chain; the last response is reinforced even if it occurs without the other responses in the chain) or the environmental…

A sequence of behaviors consisting of appropriate responses, inappropriate responses, or a combination of both can be linked together in a behavior chain. Several operant processes may disrupt behavior chains. For example, one or more members of the behavior chain may be affected when reinforcement is withheld for the last response in the chain…