This longitudinal study examined the hypothesis that two different types of joint-attention skills were related to verbal and nonverbal IQ measures through middle childhood. Subjects were infants born preterm and tested at 13 months and at 8 years. Findings provide support for the hypothesis that the initiation of joint attention makes a unique…

Three two-year-old boys with autism participated in a study comparing effects on time engaged when a toy was selected by either teacher or child. The data suggest the child-choice condition resulted in more engaged time for each participant and less problematic behaviors for two of the children. (Contains references.) (Author/DB)

This paper presents a model of differential diagnosis of attentional problems and reading disability that uses intra-individual differences in performance of tasks that vary in their requirement of sustained attention such as listening comprehension (high attention requirement) and reading comprehension (lower attention requirement). The validity…

Children with mental retardation are particularly prone to failure on relational tasks such as oddity and match-to-sample, suggesting a differential sensitivity to relational information. This paper reports on several studies in which characteristics of stimulus arrays were enhanced. Results demonstrated the theoretical and practical significance…

The study investigated the effects of a self-instructional training package on the on-task behavior of four adults with mental retardation employed in a sheltered workshop. On-task behavior increased substantially across all subjects following the training and the behavior generalized from the training setting to the actual work environment.…

This study compared parent and teacher behavioral ratings for 77 children (ages 5-16) diagnosed as having attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADD/H), attention deficit disorder without hyperactivity (ADD/WO), or learning disabilities (LD). ADD/WO and LD children were rated similarly on symptoms of withdrawal and impulsivity but differed…

The onset and maintenance of visual attention to signing was observed in three profoundly deaf children (ages two and three) while interacting with their hearing mothers about a picture story. All children experienced problems with the need to focus simultaneously on the mother's signs and the picture book. Suggestions for developing visual…

This study, with four preschool children who displayed difficulty maintaining independent on-task behavior, found they were able to learn a self-monitoring strategy (comprising self-talk, self-appraisal, and self-recording) and to maintain the targeted behavior improvements upon removal of the prompts. (DB)

Twenty students and 45 adults with visual impairments or blindness were administered a test of tactile concentration and short-term memory involving the reproduction of the order of finger stimulation using the Finger Knocking Box. Reliability and validity scores indicated encouraging results with use of the instrument. (JDD)

This study examined effects of providing "mood calming" background music in a special class for children with emotional and behavioral difficulties. Findings indicated a significant improvement in behavior and mathematics performance for all 10 of the children, with effects most noticeable for children with problems related to constant stimulus…

Examined the moderating role of individual differences in negative emotionality in the relations of behavioral and attentional regulation to externalizing problem behaviors. Found that at two ages behavioral dysregulation predicted externalizing behavior problems for children both high and low in negative emotionality, whereas prediction of…

This study investigated potential effects of auditory and other communicative experience on development of visual attention in 80 infants (tested at 9, 12, and 18 months), half deaf and half with deaf mothers. Results indicate that early visual attention is associated with and potentially influenced by a complex interaction of maturation,…

Twenty children with autism were compared to children with Down syndrome (n=19) and typical peers (n=20) in visual orientation to two social and two nonsocial stimuli and in ability to share attention. Children with autism frequently failed to orient to all stimuli, particularly social stimuli, and exhibited attention deficits. (Author/CR)

This study investigated gender differences in kindergarteners' literacy skills, specifically, whether differences in children's classroom behaviors explained females' early learning advantage. Data included information on 16,883 kindergartners (8,701 boys and 8,182 girls) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort of…

This study quantified the influence of visual attention therapy on the reading comprehension of 30 6th-grade children with moderate reading disabilities (RD). Experimental subjects received 12 one-hour sessions of individually monitored, computer-based attention therapy programs. After 12 weeks, the experimental subjects, but not the controls,…