Describes a statewide childhood gun safety program in New Mexico aimed at reducing the availability of loaded guns at home. Focusing on increasing safety awareness of communities, health care professionals, parents, and gun owners, the program will be continued with a new three-year funding grant. (SLD)

Describes a study involving 29 low-income parents with learning difficulties that validated a prescriptive home-danger and safety-precaution instrument containing 14 epidemiological categories to be used in the design and evaluation of family-tailored injury prevention and safety interventions. (Author/CR)

Data from the National Center for Sports Injury show that changes in rules and equipment have made interscholastic sports safer in recent decades, but the record for 1982-1997 shows that there is still room for improvement. The paper presents sport-specific considerations and examines several general safety recommendations that should be followed.…

A study examined rural service patterns and teacher preparation related to students who had experienced traumatic brain injury. Survey findings from 188 general and special education professionals in rural Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi suggest a lack of meaningful preparation for working with this population. Educational and…

This article discusses newer views of functional developmental plasticity occurring after biological insults to the developing central nervous system (CNS), including concepts of neurobehavioral outcome and ways to measure it, biological risk, age and development at onset of CNS insult, time since onset of CNS insult, and reserve. (Contains…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention works with public health agencies and other organizations to address chronic disease prevention and risk reduction in older adults. Efforts in the areas of physical activity, osteoarthritis, and chronic illness self-management are described. Other activities include older adult immunization programs…

This article presents a functional understanding of the executive system, its development in childhood, its relation to communication effectiveness, and an everyday approach to intervention for adolescents with executive function impairments associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The role of…

This study was conducted to examine the impact of childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) on intellectual and academic outcomes postinjury. A comprehensive assessment of cognition, achievement, learning, and memory was administered to 27 children and adolescents 6 to 8 years post-TBI. Findings revealed that parent ratings of premorbid achievement…

Findings about the influence of coping on psychological adjustment in children with different medical conditions are inconsistent and often based on cross-sectional data. This prospective study evaluated the effect of various coping strategies on children's post-traumatic stress symptoms and behavioral problems 1 month and 1 year after an…

Injury represents the leading cause of death and disability for US children and adolescents. Almost 16 million children are evaluated for injury each year in the United States. Although childhood injury rates are decreasing, 70% of all deaths among children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 years are injury related. Nonfatal injury is the leading cause…

Providing an environment that is responsive to emergency health needs of students is essential to creating a safe setting for children in schools. The question of what minimal essential emergency equipment and resources should be available in schools brings with it many and varied opinions, issues, and concerns. Through funding from the Emergency…

Problem behavior can interfere with learning, the development of appropriate skills, and socialization in persons with developmental disabilities. In severe cases, problem behavior could result in life-threatening injury. For one 21-month-old participant diagnosed with autism engaging in severe problem behavior for whom reinforcement-based…

The Principal's Legal Handbook contains information and recommendations for practice in four areas. Section 1, "Students and the Law," yields interesting and informative answers on a number of issues related to students and the law: recent issues in schools relative to students' rights; the use of technology; and the latest case law and…

This paper describes a comprehensive approach to intervention and support for families of children experiencing traumatic brain injury (TBI) and behavior problems. It explains the need for child- and family-centered intervention approaches, discusses the theoretical basis and key features of one approach, summarizes the steps in the support…

This guide to educational services for individuals with traumatic brain injury emphasizes that there is no such thing as a typical brain injury and that each child's recovery is unique. It stresses the schools' responsibility to serve these children's educational, psychological, emotional, communicative, and/or health needs, and urges public…