This study assessed quality of life (QOL) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of 203 adolescents with cerebral palsy (111 males, 92 females; mean age 16y [SD 1y 9mo]). Participants were classified using the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), as Level I (n=60), Level II (n=33), Level III (n=28), Level IV (n=50), or Level V…

Military families with autistic children are often confronted with a very particular set of challenges. Autism, a neurological disability that causes difficulty with behavior, communication, learning, and social interaction, can create enormous stress on a family--stress that is magnified when one spouse is away for extended periods of time, when…

We evaluated a video-based error correction procedure for teaching four adults with developmental disabilities to set a table. Video clips were initially used as an antecedent prompt. However, only one of the adults learned to set the table with this procedure. Consequently, the remaining three adults received intervention in which the video clips…

The purpose of this study was to train teachers to follow a task analysis to teach a story-based literacy lesson using adapted, grade-appropriate middle school literature to students with moderate and severe developmental disabilities. A multiple-probe-across-participants design was used to examine the effects of training teachers to follow a…

In dominant definitions of mental retardation, researchers have insisted on the diagnosis being restricted to conditions manifested during the developmental period. However, even in the 19th century, this was only one of several conceptual options, some of which did not exclude adult brain injury or dementia. Events in the 19th and early 20th…

Although experimental analysis methodologies have been useful for identifying the function of a wide variety of target behaviors (e.g., Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, & Richman, 1982/1994), only recently have such procedures been applied to verbal operants (Lerman et al., 2005). In the current study, we conducted a systematic replication of the…

Written to be acted by individuals with disabilities, the theme of this play is the world of work and unemployment. The play is intended to bring more public attention to the human problems caused by unemployment and underemployment as well as to provide the unemployed with guidance. Major characters include a developmentally disabled young man, a…

The paper describes the Temporary Care Services program in Massachusetts which provides in-home respite care to families with developmentally delayed children. Events which led to the program's development are reviewed. Respite care is offered in six areas: emergencies, scheduled routine events, social activities, family life, child care for…

The job satisfaction of 35 developmentally disabled workers (17 to 38 years old) placed into competitive employment over a 2.5 year period was assessed. The Job Satisfaction Survey which measures satisfaction with the job itself, with the work group, with the company, and with the pay and job status, was administered orally in structured interview…

The document contains transcripts of the Congressional hearings on the Developmental Disabilities Act Amendments of 1978 (H.R. 11764), legislation designed to improve and coordinate provision of services to the developmentally disabled. Presented along with the text of H.R. 11764 are the texts of H.R. 278, H.R. 2151, and H.R. 10059 (all part of…

The pamphlet discusses several puzzling disorders of childhood, including autism, atypical personality development (childhood psychosis), psychosocial dwarfism, and Tourette's syndrome. Psychosocial dwarfism is said to be characterized by a marked reduction in physical development and by immaturity in behavior, while Tourette's syndrome involves…

Instructional package technology can meet the needs of the aging and aged developmentally disabled person by focusing on specific functional skill instruction by paraprofessionals. (CL)

A prospective longitudinal study of the development of children with delays of unknown etiology over a six-year period (from mean age 34.2 months to 109.7 months) indicated that, for the group as a whole, scores were stable with the most able children at entry making the most progress over time. (DB)

A five-year-old developmentally delayed, musically gifted child with no formal musical training was asked to repeat passages on the piano. Analysis of responses to melodies in each of the 24 major and minor keys indicated sensitivity to aspects of diatonic structure exhibited by mature listeners. (Author)

A microcomputer was used to assist residential staff in assessment, training, and management of persons with developmental disabilities. Using nonprofessionals as the major source of input, the system produced comprehensive individualized behavioral intervention plans for more than 300 different problems and identified preventive measures.…