This document contains the proceedings from the National Conference on Developmental Disabilities and Gerontology, a conference designed to develop guidelines for program development on national, state, and local levels; develop and disseminate a proceedings publication; and provide an interface between professionals working at national, state,…

Intended for use in training conferences, the manual describes the philosophy and procedures of Try Another Way, an approach for teaching moderately, severely and profoundly mentally retarded persons and developmentally disabled persons difficult to train. An alternative definition of retardation is proposed which stresses level of functioning…

This directory lists 107 child advocacy programs in 37 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. Each entry includes project title, address, telephone number, contact person, a statement of purpose and a summary of current advocacy activities. Entries are indexed under the following terms: adolescent parenthood,…

The report describes the first national conference on temporary family supports and integrated respite services systems for the developmentally disabled held in 1978. Program planning information is presented along with evaluation feedback summarized from participant responses. Recommendations from the conference are discussed, including…

A measurement device, Assessment of Sensorimotor Integration in Preschool Children, was developed to assess postural control, reflex integration and bilateral motor integration in developmentally delayed children (3 to 5 years old). The test was administered to 113 normal children and results were compared with data collected on 23 developmentally…

Many preschool children with developmental delays in cognition and language are in the preoperational stage as defined by Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development. The preoperational stage is divided into the preconceptual and the intuitive phases. During the preconceptual phase, the preschooler is unable to form true concepts and often…

The author reviews the need to provide continuity of services to developmentally disabled persons and makes recommendations for the redesign of New Jersey's organizational structure responsible for personal program coordination. Limitations of existing programs are seen to involve administrative, categorical and geographic factors. Proposed are…

The directory identifies resources which provide services to cerebral palsied, epileptic, and mentally retarded citizens of Florida. Listed are names and addresses of Divison of Retardation facilities; private agencies such as the Florida Association for Retarded Children, the Epilepsy Foundation of America, and United Cerebral Palsy of Florida;…

A criterion-reference checklist of perceptual-motor and language skills designed to identify specific skills in 21 developmentally handicapped preschoolers (3-6 years old) was developed. (Author/BD)

Results of a series of three experiments with four developmentally disabled males (ages 7-13) who exhibited hand flapping and body rocking indicated that some forms of repetitive stereotyped behaviors may serve social functions (e.g., escape from aversive situations), and that teaching a functionally equivalent communicative alternative can be an…

Explored patterns of coping and adaptation in families which adapted well to birth of a child with developmental disabilities. Found positive adaptation unrelated to degree of disability or soothability, or to family income. Positive family adaptation related to well-functioning parental subsystems, with two-parent families at an advantage, and…

State plans (1984-86) were analyzed to see how the choice of child development as a priority service area was correlated with sociodemographic, health status, service program variables, and developmental disability fund allocation. Results provided no evidence that the allocation of resources to child development reflects states' needs. (DB)

Evidence of the efficacy of developmental therapy is examined through a literature review of meta-analytic and single-subject research. Future research directions for evaluating the effectiveness of early physical therapy and occupational therapy are discussed, such as criterion-referenced outcome measures and functional outcome measures.…

Many public programs providing employment services and support to developmentally disabled adults foster dependency and work disincentives and fail to provide adequate vocational service. Programs should be better coordinated, focus on transitional and supported work activities, and provide incentives to motivate clients to attain the most…

Literature dealing with parent involvement in home-based therapeutic programs for young developmentally disabled children is reviewed. Although research suggests such home based programs can be effective, professionals should carefully consider their expectations of parents as therapists, since they must also play the role of parents and primary…