Intended for parents, the interview with T. B. Brazleton discusses aspects of child mental health, including the difference among babies, the hyperkinetic infant, the baby's influence on the parent and vice versa, laying the groundwork for competency in children, and community programs for parents. (BB)

To investigate the effects of distraction, task performance with or without within-task color, holding task complexity constant, was assessed with 25 hyperactive Ss and 22 controls (5 to 10 years old). Two visual-motor drawing tasks, one visual concentration task and a combined visual-motor and visual concentration task were given. Error analyses…

Sustained attention to visual and auditory stimuli and reflection-impulsivity were examined in 48 hyperactive and 48 normal 9 and 14 year old boys. Multivariate analyses, followed by univariate tests, indicated that the nonhyperactive Ss increased sustained attention efficiency with age to both visual and auditory Stimuli. Hyperactive Ss increased…

Fourteen profiles of students in kindergarten through grade 8 provide information on characteristic behavior of learning disabled or behavior disordered students. Characteristics are matched up with appropriate strategies from a list of 188 in the back of the book. Profiles include hyperactive, withdrawn, clumsy, friendless, bewildered, and…

Reports on research conducted to asses the utility of physiological responses for both the prediction of individual differences in attentional capacity and the monitoring of developmental changes in attentional responsivity. Specifically the experiments assessed: (1) Heart rate variability and newborn heart rate responses to illumination changes,…

A motor-sensory training program was established to meet developmental motor needs of behaviorally disordered children (6 to 8 years old). Most of the children had motor deficiencies, as well as diagnosed learning disabilities, and some children were entered in the program not because of motor deficiencies but because of their extreme motor…

Reviewed in the report is research on hyperkinesis, specifically B. Feingold's hypotheses on the role of salicylates and food additives. Criticisms of Feingold's studies are seen to include methodological weaknesses (no double blind controlled experiments), nutritional concerns over the adequacy of prescribed diets, and lack of a specifically…

The bibliography on the hyperkinetic behavior syndrome focuses on the behavior characteristics of and treatment for hyperactivity. Entries are divided into the following sections (sample subsections are in parentheses): general review of pediatric psychopharmacology; the hyperkinetic behavior syndrome (overview, diagnosis and evaluation,…

Evaluated with 86 children (grades 4 through 6) in both regular and special education classes were techniques for teaching children self control of hyperactivity in the regular educational setting. Ss were divided into three groups: control group; placebo-control group, receiving sensorimotor training; and the experimental group, receiving a…

Fifteen hyperkinetic children (6-12 years old) were involved in a pilot study to test B. Feingold's hypothesis that hyperkinesis may be caused by artificial flavors and colors in food. Prior to treatment, parents and teachers completed bi-weekly questionnaires regarding each Ss' behavior both on medication (pretreatment period) and when medication…

A rationale for being skeptical of drug treatment for hyperactive children is that there is no learning of desired behaviors. Changes in the child's behavior do not carry over to the time when treatment is stopped. The proper approach is viewed as working with parents and teachers to develop behavioral and social means in the problem management of…

Reviewed is literature and research on the use of psychoactive drugs for control of hyperkinesis in children. Briefly discussed are such topics as the prelevance (close to 1.5 million children on medication) of drug therapy, the misuse of stimulant drugs in the schools, the three major drug groups (stimulants, anticonvulsants, and antidepressants)…

A study of the effects of inadequate nutrition upon disadvantaged children involved 113 Head Start children and their families. Information was collected on home diet, socioeconomic data, performance on intelligence tests, hemoglobin levels, class attendance, height, and weight to find out whether or not there was a relationship between nutrition…

From a population of 130 boys between 7 and 14 years of age who had been clinically diagnosed as aggressive, hyperactive, or withdrawn, 32, 31, and 32 Ss, respectively, were randomly selected and administered the Quay Behavior Problem Checklist and the Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale during the 1971-1972 academic year. A…