In this article, the author talks about three special needs camps--Camp Kirk, Camp Talisman and Camp Caglewood. Camp Kirk's philosophy is to encourage their children to take risks in a structured setting, like high ropes courses, rock climbing wall, martial arts, and traditional activities like swimming, arts and craft, drama, and others. Once…

There have been growing reports of older women and men caring for their grandchildren and great grandchildren. Many of these grandparents are caring for children with developmental disabilities. To systematically examine the effectiveness of a support group intervention for such grandparents, we recruited 97 grandparents through three agencies in…

Wilkinson and Green (1998) reported that differences in the procedure by which new words were introduced to learners with cognitive impairments significantly affected their accuracy in later tests of receptive understanding of word meanings. However, a limited sample and no control group rendered the data preliminary. Here, I replicated and…

The paper reports epidemiological and phenomenological investigations of aberrant eating among 347 pre-adolescent children in court-ordered foster and kinship care, in New South Wales, Australia. A quarter of children displayed clinically significant aberrant eating problems, with no evidence of gender or age effects. Two distinct patterns were…

The impact of a consumer-directed support program on family caregivers of adults with developmental disabilities was explored. Economic, health, and social outcomes were compared between families in the program and families on the waiting list for the program. Caregivers of adults in the program reported fewer out-of-pocket disability expenses,…

Communication skills are important for children with developmental disabilities to be functional and independent in their own lives. This study examined influences of different types of listener feedback or breakdowns on repair behaviors of nonverbal children with disabilities during semi-structured opportunities at snack time. Three preschool…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of pyramidal training with direct care staff in group homes. Training focused on teaching staff how to provide opportunities for communication to non-speaking children with developmental disabilities to communicate. Staff were taught through a combination of a workshop, and nondirective consultation following…

Two staff members working in different preschools received training in the form of instructions, modeling, immediate feedback, and social reinforcement of good performance. Effects of training were assessed with a multiple baseline ABCDCDCD design. Correct use of basic behavioral teaching techniques increased from 16-31% to 92-95% and the rate of…

The study investigated the role of social reinforcement, when teaching two preschoolers with no functional vocal verbal behavior first instances of echoic responses, using rapid motor imitation responding. The dependent variables for the experiment were: (1) echoic tacts (echoics presented under the controlling variables of tacts) and (2)…

This site visit report describes the development and activities of the New Hampshire Family Support Network for families of people with developmental disabilities, and is based on a review of documents, interviews with key people, and participant observation. It begins with a brief history of family activism in New Hampshire, noting the early high…

This participant's manual covers "Changing Times", the second module of a four-module training program for all individuals employed in programs funded by Oklahoma's Developmental Disabilities Services Division. This includes van drivers, recreation workers, residential staff, administrators, case managers, secretarial/clerical staff,…

Play is a central facilitating element of early development. As a child plays, he or she practices spontaneously cognitive, emotional, and motor abilities. This research project, part of a larger project on early intervention with young disabled children, investigated the play of children with a motor handicap. The sample consisted of 61 disabled…

This report describes the development and pilot testing of a fire safety certification system for board and care operators and staff who serve clients with developmental disabilities. During Phase 1, training materials were developed, including a trainer's manual, a participant's coursebook a videotape, an audiotape, and a pre-/post test which was…

Classroom observations were conducted with five children, identified as at risk for developmental delay, throughout their first year of preschool, to identify their patterns of adjustment to an integrated preschool program. A video assessment of each child was conducted prior to program entry to help teachers plan a successful transition.…

This report discusses issues regarding the out-of-home placement of children with developmental disabilities and the need for permanency planning for these children. The document reports on a project which sought to: (1) discern practices of Colorado's Department of Social Services and Division for Developmental Disabilities which affect the…