This study examined experiences of 44 employed mothers of children (age 5) with developmental disabilities who had searched for and found child care services within the preceding year. Care by relatives was the most common arrangement; center-based care the least common. Severity of developmental delay and the presence of behavior problems…

A study of 64 British people with learning disabilities examined the differences in the levels of engagement in purposeful activity between the people living in staffed homes (n=34) and those living in the hospital (n=30). Results found that differences in the level of disability between the two groups predicted the observed differences. (CR)

A study assessed the attitudes of 52 general early childhood teachers serving young children with disabilities in inclusive early childhood settings. Findings indicated teachers' comfort levels decreased as the severity of the child's disability increased and were lowest when the child had severe disabilities in leg functioning, muscle tone, and…

This study found that three measures of working memory capacity (processing and storage capacity, reading and listening span, and visual shape span) were good predictors of reading achievement in 30 orally educated children (ages 5 to 14) with hearing impairments as well as in an age-matched hearing control group. Degree of hearing loss did not…

Reports on acquiescence in 616 persons (ages 18-69) with mental retardation. The data, collected in a nationwide Finnish quality-of-life study, found: 11 to 36% of subjects responded acquiescently in interviews; there was a significant relationship between acquiescence and interviewer/interviewee gender combinations; there were no significant…

This study compared 34 adults who had shown early delays in language (high functioning autism) with 42 similar individuals with no such delays (Asperger Syndrome). No significant differences were found between groups on the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R), their social outcome ratings or ADI-R scores based on current functioning, or on…

An error analysis of the word recognition responses of 20 adult cochlear implant users and 19 typical listeners was conducted to determine the types of partial information used when they identified spoken words under auditory-alone and audiovisual conditions. Results indicate there were no significant interactions with hearing status. (Contains…

Nebraska family physicians (n=184) were surveyed concerning requests for consultations and referrals to early intervention services for hypothetical cases. Consultations and referrals were influenced by the child's level of developmental delay and age. Requests for educational and psychological consultations were in the low to moderate range.…

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)

Ninety-five secondary students with learning disabilities (LDs) and 126 nondisabled students were assessed for depression. The prevalence of depression for both students with and without LDs was 10%. No difference in prevalence or severity of depression was noted for disability or gender. Subscales of the Self-Esteem Inventory and Adolescent…

Analysis of records on the number of activities engaged in outside the institution of 24 individuals with mental retardation moving from a hospital in County Durham (United Kingdom) to community-based homes found that home size, degree of disability, and number of trips made before moving were correlated with the number of trips from the home…

This study provides a clinical profile of 178 children (ages 3-6) with developmental phonological disorders, based on prior reports and new data on 64 children. Data discussed include gender, age, and severity; speech profiles; prosody-voice profiles; causal-correlates profiles; and a prevalence profile. (Author/JDD)

The development of 193 preschool children from five groups (developmental language disordered, high-functioning autistic, low-functioning autistic, mentally retarded, and normally developing) were coded in situations involving simulated distress by an adult. Low functioning autistic children showed deficits in responding to all situations. The…

Describes the rationale for, and the routine use of, individual and sound-field FM technology with children having all degrees of hearing loss. This technology is seen as enhancing acoustic accessibility in home and school environments for children of all ages. (DB)

A study involving 166 infants with disabilities found that mothers' employment plans and child-care decisions were affected by their children's special needs. Children with Down syndrome compared with those with other developmental delays entered child care earlier, were more likely to be in centers, and received lower quality care. (CR)