Two developmentally disabled children were held in seated position during application of timeout procedure. For autistic-like girl procedure produced dramatic reduction in tantrums and aggressive behavior and for mentally retarded boy reduced aggression. For both, immobilization timeout proved more effective than reinforcement methods alone. (CMG)

A workshop for those who work with developmentally disabled children was designed so that the participants could experience some of the limitations and frustrations of their clients. (ST)

Eight autistic children, who evidenced overselectivity on a preassessment task, and 8 normal children with similar mental age levels were trained on 3 tasks to determine if overselectivity varied as a function of different stimulus conditions. Stimulus overselectivity was found not to be a generalized deficit in autistic subjects; instead it…

A survey of each state's mental retardation/developmental disablity agency determined results such as that each state has group home programs, that at least 57,494 persons reside in 6,302 group homes, and that 42,212 persons were in group homes of 15 persons or less. (Author/MC)

The Developmental Disabilities Information Survey was used to derive information about 36,334 developmentally disabled persons (34 percent children and 66 percent adults) in New York. Among findings were that 24 percent of children and 45 percent of adults were in institutions, that most were retarded, and that half had self-care skills.…

Four developmentally delayed babies were given semicircular canal stimulation in an effort to facilitate their motor and reflex development. All of the children showed motor and/or reflex changes that were attributable to the vestibular stimulation. In addition, some evidence was obtained linking changes in stereotypic responding to the vestibular…

Advocates adoption workers receive perinatal education so that they may be more competent in placing special needs children. Suggests a perinatal inservice program for social workers which would bridge the gap from the clinical practice setting of perinatal centers to the child welfare arena. (Author/CM)

An assessment instrument developed to measure applied reading and comprehension skills, direction following (using information from the reading passages), applied number skills, and social adaptation to a work situation was administered to 30 developmentally disabled adolescents. (Author)

The article reports the effects of step-by-step integration of four cognitively and/or behaviorally handicapped preschool children in a day care program designed to serve nonhandicapped children. Results were mixed. Journal availability: see EC 133 846. (Author)

The article describes Life Experiences, Inc., an organization in Cary, North Carolina, that operates and maintains facilities and programs for handicapped adults and assists them to function as productive citizens of the community. (DLS)

A study of seven adults with profound developmental disabilities compared methods for presenting stimuli during reinforcer-preference assessments. It found that a multiple-stimulus format in which selections were made without replacement may share the advantages of a paired-stimulus format and a multiple-stimulus format with replacement, while…

This study found a high incidence of nontraumatic fractures in adults with developmental disabilities living in a state-run facility, a 7.3% incidence among 391 adults. Factors associated with fractures included use of antiepileptic medication. Although bone mineral density (BMD) by heel ultrasound did not predict fracture, values were much lower…

This study examined stress-support in 42 families of 3- to 18-year-old children with Prader-Willi Syndrome. While children's age, intelligence quotient, and degree of obesity were not related to familial stress, families experienced greater stress when children showed more behavior problems overall, more externalizing and internalizing problems,…