Although comorbid or co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety disorders, depression, and oppositional defiant or conduct disorders have been well studied in children or adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), very little research is available on preschool samples. The current study…

The process of psychiatric diagnosis has recently undergone major revision with the appearance of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual III (DSM III). The article examines the new system of multiaxial diagnoses in relation to existing special education categories. (Author)

Meta-analysis was used to arrive at a quantitative synthesis of the results of 94 studies of the validity of Wechsler regroupings for differential diagnosis of learning disabilities. The primary findings indicated that no recategorization, profile, factor cluster, or pattern showed a significant difference between learning disabled and normal…

This article raises four issues in the education of students with emotional and/or behavioral disorders. These are: (1) misidentification, (2) diagnostic omission of comorbidity, (3) psychopharmacologic under treatment, and (4) misunderstanding of developmental psychopathology. (Contains references.) (DB)

Although integrating handicapped children into regular classrooms has become well established educational practice, clinical decisions to mainstream a given child should be based on systematic consideration of several factors. These criteria are discussed. (Author)

This article critically analyzes available definitions of learning disability. The general problem of definition is discussed first, followed by a discussion of individual definitions from the earliest to the latest. It is concluded that the definitions fail to provide substantive insight into the nature of the condition. (Contains extensive…

This article provides a brief overview of the status of knowledge in the area of child and adolescent depression, focusing on depression in handicapped populations in school settings and the implications for special educators. The article describes diagnostic criteria, identification procedures, assessment methodology, and intervention strategies.…

The original authors of an article proposing a new medical model of special education for children with emotional or behavioral disorders respond to comments by considering: (1) the role of psychiatric diagnosis in special education, (2) the relative efficacy of behavioral versus psychopharmacologic treatment, and (3) the nature of…

A study compared 422 Head Start children with a putative diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with typical Head Start children from kindergarten through third grade. Children with putative ADHD who had received medications were significantly more likely to be found eligible for special education than non-medicated children.…

A study examined the identification rate of mental retardation, learning disabilities, speech or language impairments, and emotional disturbance of 4,161 Head Start children as they completed first grade. Only 26% of the children meeting research diagnostic criteria in these four major categories were identified by the schools. (Author/CR)

A study investigated the effect of different diagnostic criteria on the identification of emotional or behavioral disorders in 3694 second-grade children. Results indicated the 13 different diagnostic combinations identified from 1.1% to 27.5% of the sample. Four of these combinations resulted in significant ethnic or gender bias. (Author/CR)