A study assessed whether a program involving simple hand-movement responses combined with optic microswitches and followed by preferred stimuli would be successful with two persons with multiple disabilities (ages 11 and 30). Data showed participants reached fairly high levels of responding during intervention and retained their achievement…

This article discusses a program that, by emphasizing individuality, integration, adaptability, and functionality (the IIAF model), improves the visual functioning of students who are visually impaired, have multiple disabilities, and function at a severely or profoundly impaired level. Examples of recommended visual learning activities are…

Describes the demographic features and clinical diagnoses in a sample of 58 demented urban black outpatients. Results indicate that probable Alzheimer's disease was the most common cause of dementia whereas probable vascular dementia was uncommon. A multiple etiology dementia was identified in more than one-third of the patients. (RJM)

The study evaluated the effects of enabling two profoundly, multiply handicapped adults to select leisure items with which they wanted to interact. Results showed that when individuals were able to make choices, their rates of interacting with leisure materials increased, compared to interaction with instructor-selected items. (Author/JDD)

This article identifies segments of the deaf-blind population needing additional support to secure and maintain employment, such as the deaf-blind mentally retarded. Supported employment models are described in this context, with special emphasis on the individual placement model and its approaches to job development, worker assessment, training…

The study found significant improvements in behavior when a profoundly mentally retarded blind subject was reinforced with music. The young woman also discriminated among different types of music, and behavior rates varied accordingly. (Author/DB)

Techniques are presented to teach students with severe and multiple handicaps to record their performance data using adapted mechanical or electronic counting devices such as calculators. Described are the purposes of self-recording, materials needed, training guidelines, and evaluation procedures. (JDD)

Tactile cues were provided to a 19-year-old deaf, blind, and mentally retarded individual to guide her performance on packaging tasks. The tactile prompts effectively guided her on the training task and were also generalized to novel tasks and cues. Continued use of the cues was necessary to maintain performance. (Author/JDD)

The study with 51 boys (ages 7 to 9 years) found that subjects classified as having both attention deficit disorder/hyperactivity and learning disabilities demonstrated the most external locus of control with subjects classified as only learning-disabled intermediate and subjects classified as only having attention deficit disorder/hyperactivity…

Two case examples illustrate how single-case designs (alternating treatments, multiple baseline, and reversal) can be used to evaluate manipulable influences on school performance. In each case, the success of an intervention plan is evaluated within the single-case design. (SLD)

Goals of the dual diagnosis movement in the U.S. have been to increase recognition of the mental health disorders of mentally retarded people, develop appropriate assessment techniques, establish both residential and outpatient services, and improve research by clarifying the roles of federal funding agencies. (JDD)

The national survey of 754 teachers of the hearing impaired found that teachers identified 23 percent of their students as also learning disabled whereas administrators in a previous study identified only 6.7 percent of hearing impaired students as also learning disabled. Teachers (84 percent) also reported little training in teaching such…

Examination of 115 women with eating disorders revealed a secondary diagnosis of borderline personality disorder associated with a history of childhood sexual abuse. A model involving background features, precipitants, and immediate and long-term psychological consequences is suggested to explain the link to childhood abuse, and implications for…

The symptomatology of 93 psychiatric inpatients with mild mental retardation was compared with that of a matched sample of inpatients without mental retardation. Patients with retardation displayed more outwardly directed and less inwardly directed symptoms; more symptoms involving action than thought; and psychotic symptom pictures which more…

This article reviews research specific to the relationship between learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders. Shared psychosocial and academic characteristics of the two groups are noted, along with the neurological basis of the disorders. Implications for future research on the increased specificity of the association are discussed.…