Because children with learning or behavior disorders tend to have multiple difficulties, assessment should include the areas of inner control, intersensory integration, reasoning, emotional adjustment, social adjustment, and developmental and social background. (DB)

The use of multidomain instruments for screening or diagnostic purposes with handicapped infants and preschoolers is reviewed. Purposes of assessment and criteria for instrument utility are presented. Five multidomain screening tools and three multidomain diagnostic instruments are reviewed with respect to their validity, reliability, and utility.…

A Louisiana school district, required to provide public preschool services to academically-gifted three- to five-year-olds, developed an effective and cost-efficient screening and identification procedure using a parent questionnaire, a preschool teacher questionnaire, and a standardized test instrument. (Author/CB)

Galectosaemia, a treatable and potentially preventable cause of brain damage and mental retardation is discussed with emphasis on neonatal screening tests, treatment with a galactose-free diet, and evidence of treatment effectiveness. (DB)

Investigation into the most effective use of a kindergarten screening battery to predict second-grade reading and mathematics achievement found that a combination of 10 readiness subtests resulted in the same degree of accuracy as that obtained using the entire battery. However, neither version was accurate enough to be useful. (Author/CB)

The article describes Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD), a screening procedure for identifying elementary students at risk for serious behavior disorders. Teacher judgment is the primary information source for the first two screening stages and direct behavioral observations for the third. Results of a year-long SSBD study are…

This study evaluated the usefulness of the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) in the medical assessment of college students. The MAST was administered randomly to 200 students at a student health center and was found to be useful as part of individual health assessments. (Author/MT)

Following its administration to 215 students (117 classified as regular and 98 as learning disabled), the Junior-Senior High School Personality Questionnaire (HSPQ) was reported to be useful as a differentiating diagnostic instrument, and was recommended as a screening device and as a measure of continuing progress. (JW)

Provides eight screening practices to consider when hiring new teachers. Includes suggestions on how to conduct interviews. (MD)

Completed a factor analysis of the abbreviated Conners Teacher Rating Scale (CTRS) for 108 regular and special education students. Two factors accounted for 69.5 percent of the total response variance: Factor I described attention deficits and motor activity, and Factor II described excessive affective reactions. (JAC)

Screening for risk factors as part of a chronic disease prevention program for youth can provide the focus for curriculum development and the impetus for health-related behavior changes. Implementation of a screening program is described, and issues related to educational and evaluative impact are discussed. (Author/MT)

Investigated the best short form of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Revised) in a comparison of 234 learning disabled students and 290 referred but ineligible children. Results suggested that Sattler's (1982) tetrad is a good predictor of Full Scale Intelligence for learning disabled students. (JAC)

This paper summarizes findings from studies linking early reading problems and spoken language deficiencies and reviews the results of two longitudinal studies which show that inferior performance in kindergarten tests of language skills may presage future reading problems in the first grade. Procedures are suggested for kindergarten screening and…

Examination of the predictive validity of the Gesell School Readiness Screening Test with 84 kindergarten-age children found the procedure effective in predicting child success or failure in kindergarten and that within four-six years the chronological age of children entering kindergarten is unrelated to eventual success of failure in…

The brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) was evaluated as a hearing screening test in 168 high-risk newborns. The BAEP was found to be a sensitive procedure for the early identification of hearing-impaired newborns. However, the yield of significant hearing abnormalities was less than predicted in other studies using BAEP. (Author/CL)