Three youths with mental retardation and behavior disorders were taught functional sight words that supported participation in recreation activities in community settings. Direct instruction with in vivo word find activities was demonstrated to be effective in promoting acquisition of functional sight words. Word recognition was maintained at…

Three elementary-aged students with multiple severe disabilities acquired basic communication and motor skills within cooperative-learning activities conducted in their general education classrooms and later generalized skills to other situations. Students without disabilities in the cooperative-learning groups achieved targeted academic…

Types of psychiatric and behavioral disturbances were reviewed for 169 preschoolers with developmental disabilities admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit. Differences were found in the proportion of some diagnoses and behavior problems across cognitive functioning level and across age; 72 percent had 1 or more medical diagnoses. (Author/SW)

This article addresses the controversy concerning multisensory environments for children and adults with profound and multiple learning difficulties, from a British perspective. The need for critical evaluation of such multisensory interventions as the "snoezelen" approach and the paucity of relevant, rigorous research on educational…

The SKI*HI Institute (Utah) has developed a system of coactive signing for children who are deaf and blind. The system includes optimized coactive signs that are functional, easy to feel, easy to relate to the referent, and easy to make. It also includes techniques for effective coactive sign use. Videotapes of lessons are described. (Author/DB)

This article reports on a deinstitutionalization project for children with severe multiple intellectual and physical disabilities, in which 98 hospital residents were relocated to small group homes. Relocation generally resulted in a more varied life-routine for residents, a broader range of social activities and greater contact with their…

This article discusses the manifestations of attention deficit disorder (ADD) in children who are deaf or hard of hearing, the impact of ADD on behavior and performance, its prevalence, recent legislative initiatives, challenges for managing the problem, and directions for future research. (Author/JDD)

Three students (ages 5-10) with profound intellectual, sensory, and physical disabilities were taught to activate a communication device to request the continuation of activities in which they were involved. The intervention consisted of a consistent response interval and increasing time delay paired with decreasing physical assistance in…

Three case reports of people with severe or profound mental retardation and Tourette disorder are presented. Issues related to the diagnosis of Tourette disorder in this population are discussed. (Author)

Services provided to 12 young adults with visual impairments moving from school to work by either an educationally based or rehabilitation-based transition program were compared. No differences were found in types or number of services provided by the two programs. Both programs cooperated with other agencies and involved subjects and parents in…

This examination of the successful community placement of 15 medically fragile individuals with profound mental retardation and complex epilepsy found that simplification of anticonvulsants, early intervention for seizures, and improved staff education resulted in fewer seizures, decreases in emergency room visits for status seizures and…

The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale was used to classify 118 hearing-impaired persons (88 percent were ages 16-21) into groups based on their ability to be trained in independent living skills. Using cluster analysis, the subjects were placed into three groups according to four domains: communication, daily living, socialization, and maladaptive…

The appropriateness of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) was investigated with 199 youngsters with dual diagnosis of mental retardation and psychiatric disturbance. With some cautions, the ABC is recommended, based on the robustness of its factor structure, clinically meaningfulness of the subscale scores, and internal consistency of the…

Questionnaire data were collected from 64 direct-care staff members in a residential facility for people with multiple disabilities. Path analyses identified factors predicting levels of perceived stress, overall job satisfaction, overall life satisfaction, and perceived likelihood of leaving the organization. Factors included staff support, job…

This article describes a program called Blind FOCUS, in which the medical community and rehabilitation services cooperate to provide integrated services to people with diabetes who become visually impaired, in the Kansas City, Missouri, area. (DB)