Summaries are presented of the activities of 16 committees on the Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Branch (MRDD) of the National Institute of Child Health. Committees are organized to guide future research efforts in biomedical issues, behavioral and social sciences, and the interface between biomedical and behavioral/social…

Autistic individuals were observed in their familiar residential environment using a time-sample technique. The data do not support the notion that autistic children are unusually "negativistic". (Author/NH)

Results of an analysis of 50 years of federal government spending for mental retardation and developmental disabilities are summarized. Spending for services and income maintenance since fiscal year 1981 has plateaued. Federal support for research and training has declined since the early 1970s. (Author/CL)

A study of respite services for families of persons with developmental disabilities indicated five major problems: inconsistent availability across the state, inconsistent planning and evaluation procedures, inadequate management information systems, lack of information to families, and lack of a career development model for respite workers.…

A center for retarded students provided students contacts with animals on a regular basis to help students overcome their fear, increase self-confidence and self-esteem, develop nurturing skills, and learn cooperation. Case studies of six children who showed special benefits from the program are included. (CL)

One successful approach to monitoring group homes for people with developmental disabilities features a parent monitoring committee with specific administrative and observational duties. Members evaluate homes on the basis of residents' rights, general environment, and staff performance. (CL)

The author describes how political and social whims can have disastrous effects on existing, effective programs for developmentally disabled, institutionalized persons, as illustrated in cutoffs for funding of a behavior modification team which used parent assistants as volunteers. (CL)

Directed to occupational therapists, the article focuses on the applications of microcomputers to services for developmentally disabled persons. Noted are computer devices (input, output, software, and firmware); computer programs (basic and sophisticated instruction, graphics); and LOGO, a computer language.

In a study involving 40 nonhandicapped preschoolers, the child's sex and the interaction between sex and label did not influence performance ratings, test scores, or the examiners' verbal behavior. The label "developmentally delayed," however had a negative impact on children's test scores and performance ratings. (Author/CL)

The study assessed the effectiveness of a head holding procedure for establishing eye contact with a three-year-old developmentally delayed child who had not acquired the response via positive reinforcement techniques. A multiple baseline across four behaviors demonstrated that the head holding procedure substantially increased eye contact for…

Tests the hypothesis that developmentally delayed children differ from normal children on tasks involving discernment of nuances, balancing competing stimuli, or acquiring and retaining selected information. Attention deployment behaviors in a free-play situation were examined for three groups: normally developing, Down syndrome, and…

Results indicated that behavior training strategies used with developmentally disabled people were used nearly twice as often by staff identified as competent as by staff selected at random. Written behavior management programs tended to be used to decrease undersirable behaviors more often than to strengthen adaptive skills. (Author/CL)

The paper offers an Australian perspective on the effects of legislation on the delivery of services to the developmentally disabled. (SB)

Used the Myers Briggs Type Indicator to measure personality type changes in three developmentally disabled adolescents before and after token economy treatment was conducted in a half-way house. (Author/DB)