A study examined guardianship as it affects young adults with disabilities. Two hundred and twenty-one court files were reviewed across nine Michigan jurisdictions. Overall, 120 plenary guardians and 101 partial guardians were appointed. Distinctions between the powers of plenary and partial guardians, however, were often found to be minimal.…

An 8-year study examined the experiences of 23 rural families in the Early Intervention Early Childhood process. Findings indicated a lack of prenatal care and limited access to medical care, specialists, and local doctors due to geographic isolation and shortages of service personnel. Recommendations for improving rural service delivery are…

This sequential analysis tested the relative extent to which several adult utterance types elicited conversational replies from eight developmentally delayed children (mean age 53 months). Among findings were that child replies of any length were elicited by adult topic continuations more than by any other adult utterance type. (Author/DB)

This paper provides a conceptual model of the language learning environment of young children, incorporating child engagement with the physical environment, contributions of child and caregiver, and caregiver mediation of physical environment. A case study illustrates the impact of a relatively simple home environmental intervention on a…

Six articles comprise this feature which explores ways in which educators and recreation leaders can respond to the needs of disabled individuals by adopting a flexible teaching style. The emphasis is on creative use of dance, movement, and music with children and adults having various disabilities. (IAH)

Sixty subjects age 6 to 30 months were assessed with the Bayley Mental Scale of Infant Development (BMSID). Mean scores were substantially higher than standardized norms would predict, indicating that Bayley norms need to be revised, and that strict interpretation of the BMSID may result in misdiagnosis of some infants with developmental…

The article describes a university-based program in which volunteers were paired one-on-one with developmentally disabled children and engaged in weekly outings. Procedures for recruiting, screening, training, and supervising volunteers are briefly described, and program evaluation data are presented. (Author/DB)

Two teachers of integrated delayed children and two teachers of segregated delayed children were taught to use sample, mand, and delay techniques with five children, aged four-five, with language and cognitive delays. The techniques were successfully and easily implemented by all teachers, and the children significantly increased their language…

Attitudes of 29 special education teachers, 15 regular teachers, and 78 parents toward an integration program involving two special schools for primary and junior secondary aged moderately and severely intellectually handicapped or developmentally delayed children were assessed. Findings affirmed the need for clear objectives, adequate resources,…

Comparison using paired t-tests of parent and teacher ratings for 16 preschool children on the Receptive-Expressive Emergent Language Scale found no significant differences between parent and teacher ratings of expressive language, but a significant difference on the receptive language subscale. However, interrater reliability was relatively low…

This study evaluated the Task Demonstration Model for teaching discrimination skills with three teachers and their students (adolescents and young adults with moderate to severe mental retardation). The intervention required students to respond simultaneously. Students increased their percentage and rate of correct responding as well as their…

Twelve children (ages 40-62 months) with developmental disabilities were divided into 2 groups. One group received functional communication training as an intervention for their challenging behavior, and the second group received time-out. Both interventions were initially successful, but durable results were achieved only with functional…

This introduction to the special issue summarizes issues raised in the nine subsequent contributed papers, which discuss research findings on communication and language development in persons with mental retardation or developmental disabilities. The paper stresses the direct relevance of the research for prevention, assessment, intervention, and…

Evaluated effects of procedure to teach appropriate social responses to adolescents with severe disabilities by employing ABA withdrawal design, replicated twice with two students, and AB design with third student. Results showed increases in correct responding and decreases in echolalia following intervention. Generalization of appropriate…

If the medical profession has been caught off guard by the climbing number of cocaine-exposed babies, educators are stupefied. Teachers must become ware of some classic symptoms of drug-damaged children, such as hyperactivity, inability to concentrate, unpredictability, and poor coordination, so that they can alter their teaching strategies. (MLH)