Cluster analysis procedures used in a study of 43 stutterers (ages 3-9) identified 14 associated speech and nonspeech behaviors and speech disfluency types, three related indices (sound prolongation, nonspeech behavior, behavioral variety), and five clusters of young stutterers. Behavioral differences reflected differences in the youngsters'…

Emotional development of handicapped children is examined from the perspective of attachment-separation-individuation theory. Data suggests that handicapped children are at greater risk of disordered patterns of interaction, delayed progression through stages of attachment-separation-individuation, and incomplete internalization of object and…

Developmental growth of residents of a university operated institution was studied over an eight-year period of time. Long-term residents received decreasing benefits over time, although shorter term residents evidenced only linear growth. The ideal duration of services was estimated as approximately three to four years. (Author)

The Residential Checklist portion of the Adaptive Functioning Index was evaluated with 218 individuals with mental retardation in a large Australian residential facility, and found to be both valid and reliable for rating the intellectual and behavioral functioning of individuals, despite some inconsistency in the more subjectively rated measures.…

This study compared the adaptive behaviors of 20 autistic, 20 Down's syndrome, and 20 normal children matched on age equivalent adaptive behavior, gender, race, birth order, family size, and socioeconomic status. The autistic children displayed significant and pervasive deficits in the acquisition of adaptive social skills and greater variability…

Adults with mental retardation (n=22,740) were studied to investigate age-related changes in functioning and their relation to subsequent mortality. Individuals with Down syndrome, compared to non-Down syndrome individuals with mental retardation, were at earlier and higher risk for adaptive regression whether prevalence, incidence, or mortality…

This study found that 16 preschoolers with Down's syndrome attained higher age equivalents and standard scores in "socialization" than did 16 preschoolers with autism. Adaptive age equivalent was positively related to chronological age for children with Down's syndrome in all domains, but only in "communication" for children with autism.…

This study investigated differences between coping behavior of 25 developmentally disabled and 25 nondisabled children (age 4-34 months) from lower- and middle-income family backgrounds. Assessment of three adaptive-coping behaviors (sensorimotor organization, reactive behavior, and self-initiated behavior) indicated that nondisabled children…

Sixteen individuals with autism and sixteen with Down's Syndrome, aged 10-29, were matched for verbal mental age. The groups' scores did not differ on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. However, the adaptive skills of Down's Syndrome individuals kept pace with mental age, while the skills of autistic subjects did not change. (Author/JDD)

Designed for use with individuals ages 3 months to 44 years, the Scales of Independent Behavior (SIB) measure adaptive behavior and problem behaviors in such areas as motor skills, social interaction, language, personal self-care, punctuality, destructiveness, and inattention. This paper describes the SIB's administration, scoring,…