A study of the sleep patterns of 28 people with severe or profound mental retardation and epilepsy found atypical sleep stages with significant depletion of REM sleep and a predominance of indiscriminate non-REM sleep. Sleep diaries completed by caregivers reveal lengthy sleep periods, especially among those with profound mental retardation.…

Stereotypic behavior was examined in a group of five multiply handicapped children (4-10 years old) over a 2-year span. Observational data were collected at 6-month intervals in the form of 2-minute running descriptions of the child's behavior and the general setting, or condition, of the behavior (e.g., unattended, or stressed). Results revealed…

The observational study investigated social interactions and on-task behavior of 20 severely multihandicapped children in a mainstreaming program. In comparison with nonhandicapped students, severely multihandicapped students interacted with teachers and aides more frequently but showed the same degree of on-task behavior. (Author/DB)

Two studies with 50 students (ages 1 to 21) with severe, profound, and multiply handicapping conditions examined similarities and differences in behavior state conditions. Among findings were that profile groups could be identified by behavior state patterns and that students spent an average of 42 percent of classroom time in state conditions not…

The representativeness of behavioral observation samples with durations of less than the whole time of interest was investigated with five profoundly mentally retarded physically handicapped adults in an institutional setting. It was found that the session representativeness was a function of the relative duration of the behavioral categories and…

A functional analysis of eye poking by a four-year-old female with severe developmental disabilities and visual impairments showed that high rates occurred in all conditions. Attempts to identify the maintaining variable found that eye poking decreased only when finger-eye contact was interrupted by blocking the response. (Author/DB)

This study presents data on the physical, developmental, and behavioral characteristics of a group of 203 nonambulatory persons with profound mental retardation. It found a high prevalence of physical and medical problems, as well as high rates of self-injurious, stereotypic, and aggressive behavior and high variability in cognitive and adaptive…