This paper urges advancement and refinement in the assessment of people with autistic disorders to include evaluation of additional psychiatric conditions which are frequently present, especially in lower-functioning autistic individuals. Implications of more comprehensive assessment for behavioral and medical intervention are discussed. (DB)

Tasks assessing perception of auditory temporal and nontemporal cues were administered to children with reading disorders (RD) with or without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or with ADHD alone. The presence of RD was associated only with a deficit in detection of a tone onset time synchrony. The presence of ADHD was associated with a…

The study with three blind and mentally retarded adults with additional disabilities found that general case simulation instruction in housekeeping skills led to generalization to untrained settings. Degree of generalization was inversely related to the severity and complexity of participant disability. (Author/DB)

This paper focuses on definitions, incidence, and characteristics of the multihandicapping condition known as "learning disabled, hearing impaired," in order to provide a means of identifying these children and determining whether or not they require different teaching strategies. (JDD)

A water mist was employed as a punisher to reduce head hitting in a 10-year-old multiply handicapped, visually impaired child. Results indicated that water mist alone was effective in reducing the frequency of head hits during meals, but other situations required the addition of primary reinforcers, stimulus control, or both. (Author/JDD)

A computer program was developed to help train three multihandicapped (hearing losses, visual impairments, and mental handicaps) adolescent students to make simple drawings on paper. Students traced sample drawings on the computer using a lightpen. Improved freehand drawing performance was demonstrated following training for all three students.…

This study sought to ascertain the magnitude of the problems of unemployment, underemployment, job training, and job placements of blind and visually impaired people with additional severe disabilities. A survey of 32 institutions and agencies and visits to 7 settings revealed that only about 15% of this population is either employed or currently…

Examination of 1,273 individuals with mental retardation in a Virginia residential institution revealed that 15.55% also had psychiatric disorders. Males had a higher prevalence than females; individuals with mild retardation had higher rates than those with other levels of retardation. Prevalence rates are provided for specific disorders by level…

This paper summarizes the case histories of four young children with concurrent autistic disorder and Williams syndrome. Williams syndrome comprises a peculiar facial appearance, learning disorder, and often hypercalcemia, mild microcephaly, large blood vessel stenosis, and a specific behavioral phenotype. Literature on Williams syndrome is…

This paper examines studies of speech sound errors using traditional articulation and phonological process descriptions, focusing on the specific types of errors exhibited by young children who stutter. Approaches for treating children who exhibit both stuttering and disordered phonology are discussed, including issues of concurrent versus…

This article cites the increased number of children with multiple disabilities and visual disabilities who generally take therapeutic medications. It lists the side effects of several types of medications, outlines the educational implications of the side effects, discusses drug interactions, and offers a glossary of medical terms. (JDD)

A new approach to behavioral control with individuals having both visual impairments and multiple disabilities stresses the use of positive intervention strategies, bases treatment on functional assessments of challenging responses, and emphasizes broad changes in the lifestyles of individuals. Case examples illustrate applications. (Author/DB)

Analysis of data for 3,266 individuals from the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey found that residents of state institutions were more severely retarded and more often multiple disabled than were residents of other types of residential facilities. Relatively more persons with severe impairments resided in state facilities in states where…

Sixty-six patients under age 25 with autism and epileptic seizures were treated and followed for 2 years. The cases are analyzed in terms of type of epilepsy, drugs used, and other treatments given. Practical guidelines are offered for the management of epilepsy in autism. (Author/JDD)