This paper aims to explore the impacts of a Learn to Play programme in specialist schools for children with multiple developmental issues. Specialist schools are schools dedicated to children with IQs below 70 and who may also have other developmental issues. The Learn to Play programme focusses on facilitating children's enjoyment and ability to…

Since its creation in the early 1980s, Light Box, a product developed by the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) that is designed for working on functional vision tasks with children who have visual impairments or multiple disabilities, has been an effective tool to help teach children with visual impairments to locate and track items…

This article investigates the relationships between play and language development in students with multiple disabilities and visual impairments or deaf-blindness. The findings indicate that students with higher levels of communication demonstrate more advanced play skills and that the use of play-based assessment and exposure to symbolic play are…

Purpose: The present article illustrates how the National Household Education Surveys (NHES; U.S. Department of Education, 2009) database might be used to address questions of relevance to researchers who are concerned with literacy development among young children. Following a general description of the NHES database, a study is provided that…

This paper introduces educators to CHARGE syndrome (CS), a multiple anomaly developmental syndrome that is usually accompanied by some degree of hearing and visual impairment. We describe the defining medical characteristics of the syndrome, and following this, outline the behavioral features commonly seen in individuals with CS. Throughout, we…

This article illustrates some ways in which observations of typically-developing infants can inform music therapy and other work with children with disabilities. The research project that is described examines typical infant development with special attention to musical relatedness and communication. Videotapes of sessions centering on musical…

Described the contribution of a preschool treatment program for multiply handicapped children and how the approach may be adopted by others. (Editor/RK)

The proceedings from the special study institute for teachers of deaf-blind children contain seven conference papers. Topics covered include early child growth and development, aspects of the diagnosis and evaluation of deaf-blind children, normal language development, and stimulating the hearing, vision, and motor development of deaf-blind…

Research on the meaning of play accelerated in the 1980s, but play in children with profound multiple disabilities is a topic, that is not discussed very often in research. In this article, play in children with profound multiple disabilities is in focus. The aim is to highlight studies on play as a tool for learning and early stimulation, and for…

This report presents three case reports of male children who meet criteria for autism and also Aarskog syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by hypertelorism, short nose, long philtrum, short stature, brachydactyly, and shawl scrotum. Two of the children also presented with severe mental retardation. (DB)

Described is the development of the Callier-Azusa Scale to assess abilities of low functioning deaf-blind or otherwise multiply handicapped children. Noted is the inappropriateness of most standardized assessment scales for the deaf-blind child due to his sensory impairments and generally delayed language and social development. It is explained…

This paper offers a model for planning services for children who are both mentally retarded and autistic. The model and recommendations for the residential therapeutic environment are organized according to the main axes of child development (biological, physical, cognitive, and socioemotional). (Author/DB)

CHARGE association-syndrome refers to a group of congenital anomalies occurring together more often than chance. Parents of children with CHARGE were surveyed and asked to indicate whether their child had various features commonly found among individuals with CHARGE (e.g., vision or hearing impairment) and to complete an adaptive behavior scale…

Included in the proceedings of a 1973 workshop on the education of deaf blind children are four papers on aspects of diagnosis and remediation. Roger Seelye discusses vision, visual anomalies, and the implications of low vision conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, retrolental fibroplasia, and optic atrophy. The low vision aids workshop is…

The author urges the field of education for children with emotional or behavioral disorders to address three critical areas: (1) developmental psychopathology (to improve early identification and prevention); (2) psychiatric comorbidity (e.g., disruptive disorders present with depression or anxiety disorder); and (3) psychopharmacology (especially…