One approach that has proved to be effective in providing prevocational training to the deaf-blind and severely handicapped is the continuum concept. This concept emphasizes the individual's movement from the educational setting into an appropriate community-based vocational environment. (JN)

Originally part of a symposium on educational media for the deaf, the author shares his experiences as a multiply handicapped person. Legally blind since he was three years old and profoundly deaf for the past ten years, the author recounts his educational training and frustrations in finding work suitable to his intellect and aspirations. (PHR)

The scant literature that does exist is reviewed, and suggestions are made for assessing mobility potential, improving locomotor skills, organizing physical exercises, and teaching orientation skills and cane travel to such persons. (Author/DLS)

The first section of the journal covers selected topics of interest in the areas of incidence and services to deaf-visually impaired persons, federal legislation on interpreters and telecommunications, and the educational significance of three levels of hearing loss. (PHR)

In order to examine the effectiveness of impedance and otoscopic screening in the determination of middle ear abnormalities, 79 physically handicapped, mentally retarded school children (mean age 8 years) were examined. (Author/PHR)

This longitudinal case study examined the communication and literacy learning progress of an 11-year-old boy with severe speech and physical impairments related to cerebral palsy. Integrated use of voice-output augmentative communication technology led to improved communication skills as well as increased demonstrations of literacy capability…

A study of a woman with deaf-blindness and severe mental retardation examined the potential decrease of problem behaviors by using functional assessment-based interventions applied in multiple natural environments throughout the day. Results found that increasing the amount of attention the woman received from program staff immediately eliminated…

This case study evaluated an antecedent intervention for tantrums by a five year-old girl with cognitive, language, and motor problems. Functional assessment correlated tantrums with high-demand activities but not with novel staff. Intervention placed novel staff in charge of high-demand activities and successfully eliminated tantrums, which…

To select an adapted mobility device for a 5-year-old boy with blindness and spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, a multidisciplinary team used 8-millimeter videography to evaluate the subject's joint angle during ambulation with one of three canes and with no cane. The I-style cane provided optimal posture and gait pattern. (Contains references.) (CR)

A state (California) database of 78,603 individuals with mental retardation receiving state services was examined to determine relations between behavior problems, residential placement patterns, and other characteristics, and the likelihood of being dually diagnosed. Extrapunitive maladaptive behaviors, cognitive abilities, and social skills were…

Examined were the effects of reversing the color of stimulus materials used to teach survival vocabulary to 16 spastic cerebral palsied and 16 other multihandicapped adolescents with mental retardation. Compared to black-on-white cards, white-on-black cards improved the acquisition performance of both groups, but did not affect retention.…

This report presents the result of the learner/teacher verification of seven switch input microcomputer software programs designed for use with multihandicapped students with developmental ages of three to five years. Strengths and weaknesses of the programs are discussed along with suggestions for their use. (Author/DB)

This paper describes diagnostic methods, treatment approaches, cultural factors, service delivery systems, and governmental roles important in the consideration of the status of mentally retarded people with mental health problems in four Spanish-speaking populations: Chile, Mexico, Spain, and Hispanic groups in the U.S. (JDD)

A functional analysis of eye poking by a four-year-old female with severe developmental disabilities and visual impairments showed that high rates occurred in all conditions. Attempts to identify the maintaining variable found that eye poking decreased only when finger-eye contact was interrupted by blocking the response. (Author/DB)

This paper examines the basic tenets of the 1968 blueprint for change offered by Lloyd Dunn, which outlined a progressive plan to improve special education for students labeled as slow learners and educable mentally retarded. Current extensions of the blueprint are offered along with a rationale for including those students with extensive support…