Introduction: Challenging behaviors are common in individuals with developmental disabilities and pose significant challenges to their well-being and that of their families and communities. Method: We explored the occurrence and predictors of self-injurious behavior and aggressive/destructive behavior in 372 Canadian youths (aged 4-20 years) with…

Up to 70% of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have a co-occurring mental health disorder; however, many clinicians feel unprepared to serve children with complex co-occurring conditions. This study surveyed 64 mental health clinicians working in 21 publically-funded mental health agencies in a large urban setting to explore their…

Aim: Our aim was to study the prevalence and characteristics of constipation in children with profound multiple disabilities, as data in this area are scarce. Method: A cross-sectional observational study was performed in specialized day-care centres and schools in the Netherlands. The study included 152 children (81 males, 71 females; mean age 9y…

This article criticizes the term "comorbidity" used to describe the overlap of developmental syndromes or disorders. Data from 179 school-age children are evaluated for criteria of seven disorders. Since fully 50 percent of the sample met the criteria for at least two diagnoses, the premise that these disorders are discrete categories on…

Prevalence of autism in tuberous sclerosis was estimated by interviewing parents of 21 children (ages 3-11). The estimated prevalence of autism was found to be one in four children in general, and one in two of those with mental retardation. Tuberous sclerosis could be a significant cause of autism and pervasive developmental disorders,…

Systematic review of 26 studies on language deficits in children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) found 71 percent of EBD children had clinically significant broad-based language deficits including pragmatic, receptive, and expressive deficits. Longitudinal studies suggested that the rate of comorbidity between language deficits and…

Repeated impedance measures were given over five weeks to 11 autistic, 20 learning-disabled, and 20 normal children. A repeated measures analysis of variance led to the conclusion that fluctuating, negative middle ear pressure greater than normal characterizes both autistic and learning-disabled children with the more abnormal pressures typical in…

Describes current child-count systems that count students with visual impairments and additional disabilities in only one disability area. This results in an undercount of the incidence of visual impairment. Discusses the need for children to be initially counted by the disability of the lowest incidence. (CR)

Medical records of residents of a facility for persons with mental retardation from January 1, 1978, through December 31, 1997, were analyzed to identify incidence of sudden unexpected death for 180 individuals with and 125 without comorbid epilepsy. Eighty deaths were identified, with 55 occurring in those with epilepsy. (Contains 15 references.)…

This study compared the family histories of 13 children with autism or pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) with depression and 10 similar children without depression. Ten of the depressed children had a positive family history of depression compared to three of the nondepressed group. Findings support the validity of depression as a distinct…

Distributions of psychiatric classifications among 42,479 persons with mental retardation were reviewed to determine relative rates of disorders for persons with both mental retardation and mental disorder. Analyses indicated that rates of reported schizophrenic and psychotic disorders were generally higher than expected relative to rates of other…

A study investigated the incidence of autism in 20 patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). The prevalence of autistic disorder was conservatively estimated at 20%. Data suggest a possible association between both hypsarrythmia and TSC-related cardiac abnormalities with autism in this subgroup of individuals with TSC. (Author/CR)

This paper reviews the literature showing the frequent co-occurrence of emotional/behavioral and language problems in children. The role of language in emotional/behavioral regulation and social interaction is reviewed and implications for speech-language pathology relative to language assessment, intervention, and counseling are discussed.…

This article discusses the problems and potential solutions surrounding foster care and adoption of handicapped children, with special focus on the situation in Virginia. The growing number of children with multiple handicaps entering foster care is cited, along with the challenge of finding foster parents for them. Social workers are advised to…

This study compared children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and mental retardation with children with only mental retardation on tasks involving sustained and selective attention. No compelling evidence emerged for sustained attention deficits in the ADHD children, though evidence suggesting selective attention deficits was…