Discusses the development and psychometric evaluation of the Social Support Inventory for Stroke Survivors, a multidimensional instrument for measuring social support and its influence on the rehabilitation of stroke patients. Examines the test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the instrument and suggests modifications and clinical…

Surveyed employers (N=100) on reservations about hiring people with disabilities. Found employers were convinced that workers with physical disabilities had positive work performance abilities and work personality attributes; opinions about workers with mental and emotional disabilities were much less positive. (Author/ABL)

The educational principles of the Peto system of conductive education for students with motor disabilities are presented. A "conductor" undertakes the process of upbringing and education simultaneously. Learning begins with a sequential task analysis of daily activities, initially started with conscious, rhythmical intention and the…

The development, use, and initial evaluation of a prototype computer system is described that enables nonspeaking persons with severe disabilities to engage in conversation on broad topics. Features include speech acts selected from a prestored menu and facilities for switching conversational perspectives between speaker and listener. (Contains 53…

Argues that the disabled are kept out of the mainstream of education by the lack of representation on decision-making bodies. Describes an exemplary mainstreaming project at a school in Guildford, Surrey. (DM)

This paper describes developments and applications in the utilization of personal computers in Italy to improve the communication capabilities of persons having communication disorders resulting from deafness, deaf blindness, or motor disabilities. (DB)

A mother recounts the first experience of her 5.5-year-old son who has muscular dystrophy and learning disabilities with mainstreaming in a summer day camp. (DB)

This paper describes the implementation of goal attainment scaling at the Scottish Centre for Children with Motor Impairments. Goal attainment scaling was chosen because of its accommodation of the heterogeneity that exists among children with movement difficulties and their variation in rates of progress. Advantages and problems with the…

Interviews with 22 mothers of children with ambulatory disability and 33 nondisabled siblings showed no differences in sibling's child care responsibilities, general home responsibilities, or independence related to severity of the ambulatory disability. A difference in the amount of social activity, reported by mothers, was not confirmed by…

Stickler syndrome is an autosomal dominant multisystem disease. The four most affected systems are craniofacial, skeletal, ocular, and auditory. The manifestations of Stickler syndrome vary considerably among affected individuals. Audiologists and speech-language pathologists should be familiar with the characteristics associated with Stickler…

This study examined whether dynamic measures of postural stability differentiated stereotyped movement disorder from dyskinetic movement disorder in a severely mentally retarded population. Participants (N=20) with either stereotypy or dyskinesia movement disorders and a control group were given a goal-oriented postural stability task. Both groups…

Sixteen students with physical disabilities participated in interviews regarding their social involvement on campus. Students identified perceived lack of acceptance by peers, transportation, scheduling of extracurricular activities, and need for assistive care as primary barriers to involvement, whereas identification with subgroups was…

A review of research on the effects of physical disabilities indicates children with physical disabilities do not have a lower self-esteem that their able-bodied peers. It is suggested that a recognition of the psychological resilience of these children may be a helpful starting point when considering future research. (Contains references.)…

This article examines the theoretical foundations of the Mobility Opportunities Via Education (MOVE) Curriculum, which is designed to teach sitting, standing, and walking skills to students with physical disabilities. By incorporating natural environment, functional activities, scaffolding, and partial participation, the curriculum enables…

This study developed a test battery to assess the cognitive skills in children with physical limitations. A preliminary battery of 83 items was administered to 26 children, aged 26 to 36 months, with severe physical impairments. Rasch analysis yielded a final battery of 35 items with high internal consistency, interrater reliability, and…