Purpose: Children with a cleft palate (± cleft lip; CP±L) can have difficulties communicating and participating in daily life, yet speech-language pathologists typically focus on speech production during routine assessments. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: Children and Youth Version (ICF-CY; World Health…

Individuals with developmental disorders frequently report a range of social cognition deficits including difficulties identifying facial displays of emotion. This study examined the specificity of face emotion processing deficits in adolescents with either autism or 22q11DS compared to typically developing (TD) controls. Two tasks (face emotion…

Background: This study aimed to gain greater insight into the perspectives of staff on their interactions with adults with congenital deafblindness in light of the research literature reporting these interactions to be lacking in quality and quantity. Method: Data from interviews with 8 disability support workers were analysed using the approach…

Reliability and measurement precision of manual muscle testing (MMT) and hand-held dynamometry (HHD) were compared for children with spina bifida. Strength measures were obtained of the hip flexors, hip abductors, and knee extensors of 20 children (10 males, 10 females; mean age 9 years 10 months; range: 5 to 15 years) by two experienced physical…

Background: An investigation of the clinical morbidity and genetic profiles of individuals with Prader?Willi syndrome (PWS) in Western Australia (WA) was undertaken as part of a wider study into the effects of intellectual disability (ID) on the life course of individuals. Methods: All persons with a diagnosis of PWS were identified from the…

An approach combining social worker and geneticist expertise in adoption is outlined in the study involving 180 families. Genetic counseling has shown to be an essential safeguard to the preservation of the adoptive family unit. (Author/SW)

This paper examines hearing aid use by 60 congenitally deaf individuals who attended special education units in South Australia. The study indicates that only one-third to half of deaf adults wore their hearing aids in social situations for speech detection. Just over one-third (n = 22) of the deaf adults involved in this study wore their hearing…

Images of tongue/palate contact for the nasal phoneme /n/ were created using the electropalatograph (EPG). Seven typical Australian adults with no history of hearing or communication difficulty produced syllables containing /n/ paired with five vowels. The majority of productions were symmetrical had contact with the alveolar ridge, and lateral…

This article on young adults with brain damage in New South Wales (Australia) focuses on epidemiological considerations and implications for management. Jointly planning for provision of services for individuals who have either congenital or acquired brain damage is recommended, in view of their similar needs. (JDD)

This case study evaluates the case of a 20-year-old young Australian adult born with agenesis of the corpus callosum, the area of the brain uniting the hemispheres. Deficits commonly associated with agenesis of the corpus callosum are mental retardation, motor involvement, seizure activity, and lateral transfer difficulties. The report: (1)…

This study examined motor, academic, and behavioral performance of 38 nine-year-old Australian children who had been described as biologically "at-risk" from neonatal conditions. In addition to individual tests taken by subjects, school progress questionnaires were administered to teachers and parents. Subjects were found to require a…

Purpose: Guidelines developed to minimise the risk of harm associated with alcohol consumption in Australia focus on promoting population health by changing cultural attitudes. This research study was conducted to uncover attitudes toward maternal drinking and awareness of alcohol-related birth defects within the semi-rural Northern Rivers area of…

A longitudinal comparative study was made of the physical growth and development of Australian fourth-grade students from low, medium, and high socioeconomic groups. Specific questions addressed were (1) Do children differing in socioeconomic status differ in anthropometric characteristics and incidence of physical defects? (2) What is the…