Children who had been removed from deleterious family environments were exposed to 10 sessions of imaginative play training. When compared with matched controls, experimental subjects showed significant post training increments in imagination, positive emotionality, prosocial behaviors, and storytelling skills and decreases in overt aggression.…

Characteristics of 310 parents of deaf-blind children and the parents' expressed training needs were assessed, along with characteristics of the handicapped child. Differences were found in the training needs of parents based on their income and educational background, as well as the frequency of contact with their child. (SEW)

Defines basic rights of institutionalized children to be (1) achievement of developmental goals, (2) protection and sustenance, and (3) therapy (corrective intervention and control). Identifies criteria for determining child abuse in institutional settings and describes steps that would improve the reporting and investigation of child abuse and…

Argues that all institutionalized children fall within the definition of handicapped offered in federal legislation and, as a result, have a right to special education services. Available from University of Detroit Journal of Urban Law, 651 E. Jefferson Avenue, Detroit, MI 48226; sc $3.50. (Author/IRT)

In residential treatment programs, involving the parents in dealing with program "crises" allows one to see firsthand how the family interacts under conditions of stress and permits systematic interventions into this system. (Author)

Evaluated was the use of easy to hard visual discrimination vocational training procedures with 24 institutionalized trainable mentally retarded Ss (16-43 years old). (PT)

Nursing assistants (n=126) in a long-term care facility attended a workshop on abuse prevention and aggression reduction. Pre-posttest data showed attitude changes and a statistically significant decline in conflict with residents, although no change was found in resident aggression toward assistants. The workshop was rated excellent by 89% and…

A study examined the self-determination knowledge of incarcerated students with (n=20) and without (n=25) disabilities. A relationship was found between self-determination knowledge and gender, reading level, math level, and disability. Students who were male, had a disability, and/or had low academic abilities in math and/or reading had lower…

This study examined the effectiveness of a Positive Talk curriculum in promoting specific conversational social skills of nine incarcerated female adolescent juvenile delinquents. Sequential application of a multiple baseline across groups design demonstrated that the training was successful in promoting the participants' social skills.…

This study found that the responses of 40 institutionalized adults with moderate mental retardation to the tasks of discriminating emotions and expressing empathy were poor in contrast to those with mild mental retardation. Of individuals with mild mental retardation, those with no chronic challenging behaviors scored better than those with…

Investigated the psychiatric comorbidity, health, and functioning of 1,000 primary care patients with alcohol abuse and dependence (AAD). Psychiatric symptomatology was assessed with the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD) diagnostic system, which resulted in a 71 percent increase in physician recognition of AAD. Other findings…

This study found chronic regurgitation in 23 of 220 institutionalized adults with severe mental retardation. A high prevalence of dysphagia and gastroesophageal abnormalities was found, suggesting the importance of full evaluation and treatment prior to a diagnosis of rumination in this population. (Author/DB)

Historical discussions of the euthanasia or "lethal chamber" option in relation to people with mental retardation are presented. The paper concludes that eugenic beliefs in the primacy of heredity over environment and the positive role of natural selection may have condoned the poor conditions characteristic of large, segregated institutions and…

Spoken communication between residents (n=10; ages 12-21) and staff members in an institution for people with mental retardation was examined. Findings suggest that staff members and residents differed in their use of topics, with staff members talking primarily about instructional and behavior management topics and residents focusing mostly on…