This study, with 13 mothers of Down's Syndrome children (ages 7 to 8) and comparison groups of mothers of motor handicapped children and of children with both mental retardation and psychotic symptoms, found mood disturbances uncommon in the mothers of DS and motor handicapped children. DS mothers' experience of social support was generally not…

This study tested the interrater reliability of the Modified Ashworth Scale in measuring upper and lower limb spasticity in 34 hemiplegic adult patients examined by 2 physiotherapists and 2 doctors. Findings indicated satisfactory reliability for upper limb spasticity but less satisfactory results for lower limb spasticity. (DB)

This case study of a nonverbal nine year old with physical handicaps examines the ethics and efficacy of using formal assessment instruments with such children, without procedural modifications or qualification of test results. Results of home and classroom observations suggested that the formal assessments did not reflect the student's actual…

Investigates the client age/disability work preference of 76 therapeutic recreation undergraduate students at 3 universities. Results indicate a preference to work with younger clients, disability groups, and physically impaired clients. Chronically ill clients were last in work preference. Students need exposure to the benefits of working with…

This study examined the mentoring component of a program in the United Kingdom for young unemployed adults with the physical disability of arthritis. The 18-month Into-Work Personal Development Programme includes residential components, mentoring, and a work experience or vocational-training placement. Issues are raised concerning matching of…

Children come to school each day with problems stemming from unmet physical, emotional, and social needs. In response, efforts to reform systems that provide services to these children have increased. Reform efforts have found flaws in the current delivery system. School psychologists are in unique position to provide significant contributions to…

This study examined the role of the Internet and its usage on the level of perceived independence among people with physical disabilities. Discusses independence, perceived control, psychological self-reliance, adaptive technology, hypotheses tested, and future directions. A copy of one of the questionnaires used is appended. (Author/LRW)

A study involving 49 Canadian individuals with spinal cord disorders investigated using the LIFE-H, a measurement designed to assess the life habits of individuals with disabilities. The LIFE-H assessment was found to be reliable, covered most of a person's life habits, and could determine the appearance of disability situations. (Author/CR)

An experimental group of 56 students with physical and sensory disabilities participated in a vocational evaluation and guidance program designed to enhance self-awareness, occupational knowledge, and job-search skills. Compared to 28 controls, the experimental group showed significant improvement in professional and personal identity and…

Examines predictive relationships between assessed functional limitations and vocational rehabilitation (VR) services provided for five homogeneous client groups. Results indicate that specific functional limitations were determinants of some VR services but were largely irrelevant to provision of other services. Predictive relationships between…

This study examined predictors of current level of physical activity among 577 college graduates with locomotor disabilities. Surveys of college alumni indicated that perceived level of physical activity during college and perceived disability severity, respectively, were the most significant predictors of current physical activity, with variance…

Suggests that studies of the development of children with disorders of motor function afford opportunities, as yet unexploited, to understand the importance of motor function to overall child development. Maintains that Pellegrini and Smith's (1998) review provides a challenge to developmentalists from many disciplines to use their natural model…

This study used grammaticality judgments to measure the sensitivity of four school-age children with severe speech and physical impairments (SSPI) to different morphological errors. Results indicated that the SSPI children and control groups made similar judgments. Participants with SSPI had greater difficulty detecting tense-marking errors…

Handwriting problems are readily apparent to classroom teachers but may be only the tip of the iceberg for children who have significant coordination difficulties. School is a daily frustration for these children as their finished work does not reflect their abilities, they struggle with the simplest of tasks and are victimized by their peers.…

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetically determined neurodevelopmental disorder that is associated with the under-expression of maternally imprinted genes at the 15q11-q13 chromosomal locus. In addition to a characteristic physical and behavioural phenotype, those with the syndrome have impaired social cognition, literal mindedness and…