This article reviews normal visual development and the role of visual gaze behaviors in attention and social interaction, discusses how the information applies to many multiply handicapped visually impaired children, and describes ways of incorporating this information into assessment and programing. (DB)

A review of existing emotional disorder assessment techniques confirmed that they are inappropriate for most children and adolescents with developmental disabilities and pay inadequate attention to affective symptoms in these subjects. A new instrument designed to evaluate mood and affect which has shown good interrater agreement is described.…

This value-added analysis of the short-term effects of early intervention on 489 preschool children found that children with language impairments or multiple disabilities made developmental gains beyond that predicted by maturation alone in several skill areas, whereas children with speech impairments benefited in the cognitive domain only.…

Examined are the effects of motor skill development and impairment on the infant's and young child's overall functioning, and suggested are guidelines for assessing motor skills in multiply handicapped children. It is explained that motor delays and deficits limit a child's learning during critical developmental periods. Examples of delayed motor…

Covered in the paper on the psychoeducational assessment of the multihandicapped child are the importance of the learning accomplished in the sensory motor period and the effects of evaluation media and sequence on child performance. Described are the six stages of sensory motor development measured by a Piagetian-based instrument developed by J.…

This videotape explains common vision tests used with infants with multiple disabilities, shows how to gather information from parents on their children's use of vision, and demonstrates selected early intervention strategies for encouraging infants and young children with multiple disabilities to use their vision in functional ways. The videotape…

Intended for either the general educator or the specialist, this text offers principles and teaching strategies for teaching students with visual impairments including both blind students and those with low vision. The book is organized into three sections: "Vision,""Learning," and "Testing and Transitions." The four chapters in the "Vision"…

The document contains 16 papers from the Institute for Deaf Blind Studies, a program to bring together many disciplines and to place emphasis on every aspect of the learning and teaching activity involved in the development of deaf-blind children. The following titles and authors are included: "Current Status of the Rubella Problem" (P. Ziring);…

This curriculum provides a sequence of activities designed to help develop cognitive and communication skills in severely and profoundly multi-handicapped individuals who are functioning between 0 and 24 months. Based on the principles that communication begins at birth and that educational programming must begin at the point where the handicapped…

The Preschool Orientation and Mobility Project had four major goals as part of its model development activities: (1) develop an Orientation and Mobility (O&M) curriculum for visually impaired and visually impaired/multiply handicapped infants and children, aged 0-5; (2) develop two O&M screening instruments; (3) develop an O&M…