Techniques used by the Special Visual Assessment Clinic for the Handicapped at the University of California-Berkeley School of Optometry are designed to serve handicapped children and adults generally considered "difficult to assess." This article describes the clinic's assessment goals, clientele, and methods for assessing visual ability and…

The demographic characteristics, life histories, and current placements of dually diagnosed elderly persons (n=27) was obtained by reviewing 132 case records of a Los Angeles regional center for developmentally disabled persons. Approximately 20 percent of the total sample were dually diagnosed and the most common mental health diagnosis was…

Describes a program in which high school students in a dropout-prevention program made twice-weekly visits to work as volunteers at a school that includes students with multiple, severe disabilities. (SR)

This article provides guidelines on diagnosing learning disabilities in deaf or hard-of-hearing children and adults, evaluates major tests in terms of their use with deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals who may have a learning disability, and suggests a battery of tests found to be useful. (Author/JDD)

This study examined the coexistence of other communicative disorders with voice disorders in about 3,400 children in grades 1-12 at 100 sites throughout the United States. The majority of voice-disordered children had coexisting articulation deviations and also differed from controls on two language measures and mean pure-tone hearing thresholds.…

Case studies are used to demonstrate several strategies used in the San Francisco Bay area to ensure the inclusion of persons with dual sensory impairments and other multiple disabilities in integrated community employment. Strategies include heterogeneous group placement, job restructuring, use of natural support, volunteerism, and social skills…

This interview with Muriel Drew Saunders, the 1991 recipient of the Clarissa Hug Teacher of the Year Award, explores Saunders' work with students with severe/multiple disabilities, changes in special education since the 1960s, her research on reward systems and chronic aberrant behavior, and her advice to new special education teachers. (JDD)

This study, with 3 sensory-impaired children (ages 24-27 months), 1 normal child, and their 4 mothers, found that mother-child communication interaction was influenced by the type of sensory impairment of the subject, whether hearing impairment, visual impairment, or both. (JDD)

Two studies evaluated the use of either in vivo training or simulation prior to in vivo, as methods for training 8 students (ages 10-19) with moderate disabilities to cross streets and to use public pay telephones. Results suggested that prior simulation training did not appear to either facilitate or inhibit later in vivo instruction. (DB)

The prevalence of epilepsy was correlated with the severity and type of encephalopathy of 1,023 individuals with mental retardation. A total of 326 individuals were diagnosed with epilepsy. Results indicated a low percentage of epilepsy in chromosomic-genetic and young adult encephalopathies and a high prevalence when the neurodeficit was…

This qualitative study identified 4 major themes during interviews with 28 families whose children have dual sensory impairments. Concerns clustered around parental perceptions of a "good life" for their children, and their experiences with fear, frustration, and change. (Author/DB)

The Psychopathology Instrument for Mentally Retarded Adults was used to diagnose 163 mentally retarded institutionalized adults according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-III axis 1 categories. Nine factors were extracted which contained 49.3 percent of the data variance and categorized correctly 69.3 percent of the cases. Factors included…

The survey of hearing loss among residents (N=398) of a long-stay hospital for persons with mental handicap found 10 percent of those over 18 and 70 percent of those aged 70-79 had socially significant hearing loss. Possible reasons are offered for this higher prevalence in the mentally handicapped population and for poor utilization of hearing…

This study compared the family histories of 13 children with autism or pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) with depression and 10 similar children without depression. Ten of the depressed children had a positive family history of depression compared to three of the nondepressed group. Findings support the validity of depression as a distinct…

Analysis of published studies of deaf mentally ill inpatients indicates a greater overall prevalence of mental illness in the deaf population than in the general population. Characteristic symptoms leading to hospitalization of deaf people tend to be different from those of hearing patients. For both hearing and deaf patients, dual diagnosis…