A study involving 2,929 Head Start children found that 8% transitioned into special education during kindergarten and showed divergent patterns of receptive language development. Head Start children in special education differed from children in general education based on child demographic, intellectual, behavioral, and health factors. (Contains…

Asserts that although no instrument has proved sufficiently robust to recommend universal screening, screening instruments for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can play an important role. Discusses the clinical issues raised in screening for a developmental disorder, including risk status, management advice, and availability of services. Asserts…

This reprint of one chapter from the 1975 text, "Issues in the Classification of Children" by Nicholas Hobbs and others, addresses the theoretical, methodological, and empirical issues involved in the "labeling" approach to the sociology of deviance. It examines the social process of classification, the use of classification in social agencies,…

In this introductory article, a response-to-instruction approach to learning disabilities (LD) identification is discussed. An overview of the promise and potential pitfalls of such an approach is provided. Benefits include identification of students based on risk rather than deficit and early identification. Questions concern the integrity of the…

In order to locate optimal cutoff scores for detecting developmental delays, the Brigance Screens were administered to 408 children (ages 21-48 months) along with a criterion battery measuring achievement and intelligence. The Receiver Operating Characteristic analyses were then used to locate optical cutoff scores for each form of the Brigance.…

Discusses advances in the field of child language and three major findings in language development: (1) infant communication begins at birth; (2) warning signs of language delay are evident by age 2; and (3) the benefits of reading aloud to young children can be strengthened through parent education. (CR)

Demographic and perception data were collected from 63 teachers (grades 1-5) to determine the effect of sociocultural variables on teachers' perceptions of classroom behavior, management, and referral tendencies. Teachers' perceptions of a learning disability, educational level, grade level, instructional practices, and prereferral intervention…

A study involving 30 Argentineans with autism evaluated the validity of the Autism Diagnostic Inventory-Telephone Screening in Spanish (ADI-TSS). The final version of the ADI-TSS could be assessed in 20 to 40 minutes and demonstrated a high validity, high interrater reliability, and high internal consistency. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

This study, involving 1,245 institutionalized adults with severe and profound mental retardation, compared individuals with and without autistic features, as assessed by the Diagnostic Assessment for the Severely Handicapped-II (DASH-II). Core and associated features of autism in this population are identified, and characteristics of persons with…

A survey of 128 British families of children with autism found progress over the last decade in the shorter time for referral to specialists, younger age at diagnosis, and younger age at receipt of special education services. Difficulties remain in obtaining initial professional advice and support, correct diagnosis, and appropriate help in the…

A survey of 312 Illinois elementary schools found that 178 had intervention assistance teams. Questionnaires completed by 83 schools provided information about team effectiveness, team composition, strategies and supports, team process, and inservice training and development. Teams met the needs of 59% of students without resorting to formal…

This study examined the development of phonological and reading skills in 171 students from the beginning of first grade (Time 1) to the end of second grade (Time 4). The study found that reader group membership (nondisabled, reading disabled, or poor reading) at Time 4 could be very accurately predicted from students' Time 1 scores. (Author/DB)

This article recommends that, to comply with federal legislation, a multilevel, multimodal approach be used for assessment and identification of students with attention deficit disorder (ADD). It identifies several purposes of ADD assessment, explains various instruments and procedures, and offers guidelines for using assessment to determine…

This article reviews the literature regarding the diagnostic criteria, causes, assessment, and treatment of selective mutism in school-age children. The most successful treatments have included various forms or combinations of behavior modification, though these may not address the underlying problem. (Author/DB)

Emotional factors were studied in 30 adults with Down's syndrome, 18 controls with Alzheimer disease, and 25 elderly controls without mental retardation. Primary emotional factors separating Down's syndrome and Alzheimer disease groups from elderly control subjects without mental retardation were indifference, pragnosia, and inappropriateness.…