The "3D" approach to providing speech/language service for developmentally delayed preschoolers involves three instructors (speech/language therapist, classroom teacher, aide) plus three motor tasks (gross, fine, oral), while bringing speech therapy into the classroom. The article discusses team planning sessions and provides a sample curriculum…

Among developmentally disabled persons (N=35,000) young and middle aged adults were found to receive psychotropic medication at higher rates than children, adolescents, or elderly persons. Medication increased with severity of retardation, restrictiveness of residential setting, severity of problem behaviors, and presence of a psychiatric…

Proposes six guidelines for art educators working with mentally and physically challenged children and youth. Discusses the use of a multicultural approach to art education and age-appropriate materials. Concludes that these guidelines will provide mentally and physically challenged youth with improved opportunities to learn art. (GEA)

The Pathways to Employment model, designed to help developmentally disabled adults, presents five stages in the career decision-making process: (1) pre-action (not at decision point); (2) action (employment-oriented decision-making); (3) service (job training); (4) outcome (degree of self-support); and (5) review action (changes in current…

Four developmentally disabled children (ages 3-5) identified as noncompliant received a standard set of adult requests under three conditions: no reinforcement, noncontingent reinforcement, and reinforcement contingent on compliance. Among results was that the contingent reinforcement procedure produced covariation in all subjects' compliance and…

The article describes the implementation and components of a program to train direct care staff working on community adjustment of developmentally disabled persons. Developed in response to local needs and respresenting an ongoing collaborative effort, the program also illustrates the role of the University Affiliated Facility in promoting…

The Carolina Record of Infant Behavior was used to assess the stability from 3 months to 1 year of such characteristics as activity level, irritability, and social responsiveness in 39 preterm infants at risk for developmental disorders. The most stability was observed on such developmentally based items as social orientation. (Author/JW)

The report presents findings regarding the characteristics of 22,256 persons with severe or profound mental retardation in New York institutional and community settings. A subpopulation with profound disabilities who were additionally classified as physically frail is described in terms of physical and adaptive characteristics, therapeutic service…

The article reviews the evolution of socio-political attitudes toward developmentally disabled and other handicapped children in Italy and analyzes the current role of behavior modification in rehabilitation efforts in that country. (CL)

Three topics are discussed: (1) history and legal structure of the care system, (2) conflicting approaches pertaining to education and training, and (3) training and research efforts in the field. It is concluded that the implementation of behavior modification in residential facilities for the developmentally disabled is still a difficult process…

The paper reviews research on behavioral staff management strategies in institutions for developmentally disabled persons, considering procedural effectiveness of four approaches: antecedent, contingency management, self-control, and multifaceted interventions. Methodological problems in the research are noted, along with needs for research on…

The model for assessing young developmentally handicapped children provides for general assessment through interviews (with parents and teachers); a developmental checklist, observations (in natural and training settings and with structured materials); identification of instructional targets; individual instruction; and a four-component assessment…

The author reports on recent Soviet studies of developmentaly delayed (DD) children, which compare clinical characteristics of DD, mentally retarded, and normal children relative to such aspects as attention, memory, intellectual functioning, and verbal facility. Noted is the similarity of DD children to American learning disabled children.…

To facilitate periodic developmental screening of all children, a Prescreening Developmental Questionnaire was created to identify those children under 3 years of age who require a more thorough screening with the Denver Developmental Screening Test. (Author)

Research has shown that children with disabilities are often rejected by their peers and are rarely selected as playmates. The purpose of this study was to investigate preschoolers' preferences for children with physical or developmental disabilities or typically developing children in hypothetical situations. Sixty-four preschool children from…