A multimodal intervention program designed for a nine-year-old with severe communication problems (secondary to cerebral palsy, receptive dysphasia, and auditory agnosia) combined manual signs and graphic symbols to help her communicate. The intensive, highly structured program had significant positive results. (Author/CB)

The theoretical basis and effectiveness of a neuromotor intervention were investigated across seven cerebral palsied, severely disabled children, (2 1/2-12 years old). Results suggested a training effect in the data of three children. Theoretical relationships among abnormal tonic reflexes and normal motor patterns were not supported by the data.…

Eighty-five mildly handicapped cerebral palsy children (6-16 years old) integrated into regular schools were assessed to identify characteristics associated with academic success and social acceptance. About 50 percent were successful in reading accuracy and comprehension, 45 percent in arithmetic, and 60 percent were socially acceptable to peers.…

Comparison of 48 cerebral palsied individuals (aged 10-18), either with impaired speech or normal speech, found speech-impaired subjects were able to discriminate phoneme contrasts adequately in a word judgment task but performed less well on a phoneme discrimination "same-different" task possibly resulting from a weak memory for novel…

Describes an assessment and intervention approach that was added to a more traditional evaluation procedure to treat the attention deficits of a boy of 2 1/2 years who had mild cerebral palsy. (RJC)

Three elementary-aged students with quadriplegic cerebral palsy and severe/profound mental retardation were taught three toothbrushing tasks (brushing teeth, rinsing, and wiping mouth) using time delay to fade physical prompts, reinforcement, and error correction. Two students reached criterion on all three tasks; one student reached criterion on…

The study observed interactions of mothers and infants in the homes of 20 families with infants having cerebral palsy (CP) and developmental delay and 20 families of nonhandicapped infants. Among findings were that mothers of CP infants were more verbally and physically directive and engaged in fewer positive behaviors in their initiation and…

Various aspects of epilepsy were studied in 78 children with mental retardation from 1989-1994. Epilepsy remained uncontrolled in 28% of cases, two-year remission was achieved by 26 percent, and mortality was 12% during the study period. Associated cerebral palsy was the most important single risk factor for severe epilepsy. (Author/CR)

A literature review of seven articles published from 1980 to 1996 on the effects of parental participation in the intervention program for children with cerebral palsy found that most of the studies reported positive results, especially for child-related outcomes. Effects on parents were related to parental involvement in goal setting. (Author/CR)

The validity of the School Function Assessment was tested with 29 children with disabilities, 18 with learning disabilities; and 17 with cerebral palsy. Discriminant analysis showed the instrument correctly classified a high percentage and should be considered a valid instrument for use in school settings. (Contains 31 references.) (JOW)

Compared were the performances of 28 cerebral palsied, 19 mentally retarded, and 30 normal children between the ages of 8 and 16 years on measures of four components of visual perception: figure-ground relationships, form constancy, spatial position, and spatial relationships. The figure-ground component was tested tachistoscopically; the…

The effects of modifications in intelligence test procedures upon the scores obtained by 232 normal, 102 mentally retarded, 106 cerebral palsied and 35 orthopedically handicapped children were investigated. Stanford-Binet tests in year-levels II through V were modified to require only a pointing or yes/no response. The modified form appeared to be…

Four subjects, aged six to seven, identified as visually impaired, were given training in making eye contact with a stimulus under both white and black light visual field. All subjects performed better under the black light condition, even overcoming the expected practice effect when white light training followed black light training. (Author/SJL)

The ability of eight adults with mental retardation (and in some cases cerebral palsy) to communicate using facilitated communication was assessed by a multidisciplinary team. Not one of the subjects demonstrated an ability to communicate using the technique. (JDD)

Describes the home and school literacy experiences of a group of children with severe motor and speech disabilities in order to examine the relationship between these experiences and reading and spelling abilities in this population. Finds that home literacy experiences in the groups studied at best had a marginal influence on reading development.…