An historical review of the documented cases of feral and other environmentally deprived children is presented. Discussion focuses on four groups of atypically reared children: animal-reared children, children isolated in wilderness, children confined in isolation, and children confined with limited human contact. (Author/CL)

The study examined relationships between symbolic play and language in 10 developmentally delayed preschool children. As predicted, individual subject data revealed instances of correspondence and noncorrespondence between developmental levels of symbolic play and communication forms. Several patterns of play-language relationships are discussed…

An examination of interpersonal antecedents for self-injurious behavior was conducted with eight retarded children. Initial analyses indicated no systematic differences in self-injurious behavior or antecedents across settings. Further analyses indicated that, relative to total occurrence, self-injurious behavior occurred significantly less…

Over 1,000 hours of observation were recorded by 18 production supervisors, 18 mentally retarded workers, and 18 employers through naturalistic observation, self-reports, and structured interviews, respectively. Distinct problematic social situations (N=355) were identified and problematic social behavior. (Author/CL)

No differential effects were revealed between minimal and relatively lengthy intervals in simulated and in vivo training of two students (8 and 13 years old) with severe handicaps. Performance in community fast food restaurants was measured. (CL)

The social behaviors of seven handicapped and five nonhandicapped preschool children in an integrated classroom were monitored during free play. Results showed some level of interaction between handicapped and nonhandicapped children in over 50 percent of all nonisolate intervals. Although both groups of children demonstrated a preference for…

Ratings on Adaptive Behavior Scale factors obtained for 47 children and adolescents in eight trainable mentally retarded classrooms were compared with data from direct classroom observations sampled over a four-day period. Findings indicated significant relationships between Ss's adaptive behavior in a residential environment and acutal observed…

Ten older and 10 younger mildly and moderately retarded preschoolers decreased the proportion of time spent in teacher-child interaction and unoccupied/onlooker behavior as a function of increasing age. Solitary/parallel play increased with age for mildly retarded Ss while remaining constant for moderately retarded Ss. (Author/CL)

Data collected on 130 older and 104 younger students with educable mental retardation are presented on intellectual level, racial background, degree of integration into regular programs, placement history, social status, and presence of specific behavioral disorders. Findings suggest the need for comprehensive curricula and systematic training in…

Fifteen mentally retarded adults living in group home and intermediate group residences (IGR) were interviewed. All participants spent majority of their time in their homes. Men played a more active role in their integration than did women. IGR men and women went less often into the community and rarely (IGR men) or never (IGR women) went out…

A pilot project was undertaken with 27 educable mentally handicapped children (9- to 12-years-old) to see if retardates could learn adaptive behavioral responses and an awareness of the consequences of behavior as a result of a sequential instructional program. (GW)

A study of 19 trainable retarded students (6-18 years old) showed (1) level of appropriate responding increased with transfer to the community; (2) level of inappropriate behavior remained the same after transter; and (3) levels of appropriate and inappropriate responding of the transferred group were similar to those of a community group.…