A major challenge to developing therapeutic interventions for cognitive loss and dementia in aging individuals with Down syndrome (DS) is the selection of appropriate outcome measures. This report describes the adaptation of the Brief Praxis Test (a nonverbal cognitive test) as a primary outcome measure, as well as the selection of secondary…

Papers by graduate students, and occasionally papers from their mentors which establish a context for the student papers, are organized by sponsoring University. Student papers presented are: (1) "The Relationship of Amount of Experience in Art to Visual Perception and Picture Memory" (Scott Wiley); (2) "In Pursuit of the Idea that…

This practicum provided training for 50 parents of children receiving clinic services for visual processing disorders and provided information on visual disorders to the children's teachers. The 8-month program involved 13 parent training sessions. These sessions focused on such topics as: current research findings on vision; identification of…

The development of a HyperCard application program, "Connecting to Your MARS Account," is described. The program was intended to assist users of the biomedical computer system at the University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), the Medical ARchival System (MARS), to connect to their computer accounts. Criteria from instructional, graphical,…

To what extent can photographic readability be formalized for use as a criterion in the evaluation of instructional materials? The purpose of this study was to develop and pilot test a readability index for evaluating photographic illustrations in instructional materials. The index uses an interdisciplinary battery of methods adapted from the…

This assessment guide represents a method for evaluating visual arts achievement by third graders. The artwork presented can be used to determine whether students have met learning objectives and are ready to advance, and also as a diagnostic tool for school improvement. The guide is based on selected sample learning objectives from "State…

One of 10 documents developed for preschool programs for handicapped children, the manual presents classroom directed home training activities. The activities are based on such principles as the effectiveness of home instruction by a parent and the need for a parent to feel responsibility for the child's learning. Intended to provide teachers of…

A reading program was devised to affect gains in reading for eighth grade students who had both perceptual and reading deficiencies. The program was divided into two phases, the first consisting of visual-motor-perceptual training conducted three times a week for twelve weeks, and the second composed of individualized reading instruction five…

Intended for parents and teachers of blind, multihandicapped children in special schools; the booklet outlines practical suggestions for teaching children with varying degrees of handicap. Sections cover the following areas (subtopics in parentheses): visual handicap (degrees of blindness); motor development and mobility (suggestions for…

THIS FOUR-PHASE TRANSITIONAL PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES PROGRAM IS PART TWO OF A THREE-PART STUDY DESIGNED TO EXAMINE AND EVALUATE CHILDREN IN HEAD START PROGRAMS IN SIX SOUTHEAST MISSOURI COUNTIES. THESE FOUR PHASES, USING 428 CHILDREN IN A 1966-1967 ACADEMIC YEAR HEAD START PROGRAM, WERE (1) CHILD OBSERVATION BY A PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELOR, (2)…

Articles on the effective use of audiovisual materials to help improve instruction comprise this volume. Included are "The Changing Program in English;""Directions in Current Literature Teaching;""Trends in the Teaching of the English Language;""Trends in the Teaching of Reading;""Detroit's Multiracial Reading Program;""What Do You See?"--a…

The findings of several tests are used to describe some learning disabilities and patterns common in lower-class Puerto Rican and Negro children. In particular, perceptual dysfunction is pointed to as a major causal factor in the reading problems of the disadvantaged. In one urban slum school, 40 percent of first graders showed serious dysfunction…

New approaches are needed if educators are to deal successfully with the problem of teaching children to learn to read words well. Interesting questions come to the fore if those who seek solutions to this difficulty regard the reading of words as a subset of the wider problem of reading the class of visual signs in general, which includes (1)…

The objectives and major questions to be addressed during this project are as follows: (1) To identify those characteristics of preschool children which relate to later performance in primary school; (2) To review existing standardized and non-standardized tests and other appraisal instruments, which may measure changes occurring in preschool…

Gender differences in level and pattern of cognitive abilities were examined in 49 learning-disabled college students. Females were stronger in visual-motor abilities and verbal conceptualization, whereas the males' highest abilities were nonverbal visual-spatial. Both groups showed weaknesses in memory for digits and factual knowledge and in…