Two methods of identifying language disordered children were examined in a study involving 54 regular kindergarten through fifth-grade teachers in two Albuquerque schools serving 1,212 children (assigned on a roughly matched basis to one of two groups). (Author/PHR)

A shortened form of the Northwestern Syntax Screening Test (NSST)--used to identify language impaired children--was developed and cross-validated with the original test. The shortened version, taking approximately 10 minutes to administer, was normed in six-month intervals, as opposed to the one-year intervals of the original NSST. (Author/DLS)

The original identifiers of mental retardation for a group of 498 consecutive admissions (ages 0 to adult) to a state operated outpatient clinic were determined. More clients identified by a private physician were found on reevaluation to be at less severe levels of retardation than were the clients seen by public health related agencies. (Author)

Intended for the teacher of handicapped children, the article describes some symptoms of language processing difficulty. Prerequisite skills for language comprehension are reviewed, and characteristics which can help to identify children with receptive language problems are listed. (SBH)

The study was designed to determine the degree of agreement between standardized tests of language development and clinical judgment. The Test of Auditory Comprehension of Language (TACL), the Carrow Elicited Language Inventory (CELI), and the Sequenced Inventory of Communication Development (SICD) were used. (Author)

As the result of inservice training and public information efforts in the Fremont (California) Unified School District, 138 children were referred to the district's program for visually impaired students over a 3 1/2 year period. (Author)

The article places in perspective the evolution of curriculum or instructional programs for the mildly handicapped adolescent, identifies several major influences on current practices, and examines the assumptions underlying assessment and intervention in the context of intensive instruction. (DLS)

The investigation explored the use of R. Cattell's ability traits (fluid and crystallized intelligence, visualization, and fluency) as a method of comparing 45 normal, learning disabled (LD), or educable mentally retarded (EMR) children (ages 7 to 9). (Author/PHR)

Three aspects of the learning strategies model are discussed: its philosophy (that intervention should be based on principles of cognitive psychology and learning); its major components (including identification, decision making, and cooperative planning); and its application to a 15-year-old LD student. (CL)

The case study of a 12-year-old boy, originally diagnosed as hearing impaired and in need of socialization, is reported to demonstrate the effects of misdiagnosis. The child was later diagnosed as autistic and more useful interventions were initiated. (PHR)

Describes the role social service agencies can play in the early detection of potential handicaps in preschool children. (BD)

Describes current child-count systems that count students with visual impairments and additional disabilities in only one disability area. This results in an undercount of the incidence of visual impairment. Discusses the need for children to be initially counted by the disability of the lowest incidence. (CR)

Discusses developmental apraxia of speech (DAS), a putative diagnostic category for children whose speech errors differ from errors of children with developmental speech delay and resemble errors of adults with acquired apraxia of speech. A study of 148 children with language impairments investigated the diagnosis of DAS. (Author/CR)

This article addresses the proposal of Shaw and others (1995) to replace the current federal definition of learning disabilities with an operationalized version proposed by the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities in the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Comparison of Shaw's recommendations with…

Measures of transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) reproducibility were obtained for 506 ears of 260 children and young adults. Findings suggest that TEOAEs provide useful information in routine clinical practice and may be employed to screen for the presence of hearing loss in children and young adults. (DB)