Noting that the progressive aging of the American population has created a need for a body of knowledge about the vocal characteristics associated with aging, this paper provides information on geriatric voice. The first section of the paper contains a selected bibliography of materials concerning geriatric voice, including literature on the need…

Data on 36 autistic, 30 mentally retarded (MR), and 22 normal children (23-65 months old) was collected to develop a method of objective behavioral assessment for diagnosing autism and documenting symptom changes over time. Ss were observed and rated on the Behavior Observation Scale, an instrument which contains 67 objectively defined behaviors…

Frequency data are reported from a research project aimed at developing the Behavior Observation Scale (BOS), an objective assessment tool for establishing the diagnosis of autism. The goals of the BOS are to differentiate autistic, normal, and mentally retarded children (ages 30 to 60 months) along objective symptom axes involving 67 behaviors.…

To help determine the role that test instrument formats play in evaluation, two parallel examinations were given to 227 second-year medical students. The tests were based on information presented in a medical case history. One required students to generate their own problem lists (the generate group); the other required the students to select…

This paper discusses the impact of emerging developmental skills on preschoolers' test performance in reference to preoperational thinking, behavioral controls, and language skills. It is emphasized that some behaviors that occur during the preschool period may suggest pathology when observed in older children but are normal for preschoolers. A…

This paper discusses the definition of learning disability through the concept of early identification of vulnerable children, based on a study of 650 inner-city preschool children. While the study's first step, scanning, identified the children who were vulnerable to learning disability, the second step, diagnosis, attempted to find the reasons…

The predictive value of a child abuse screening instrument on unselected populations is illustrated for varying hypothesized levels of child abuse prevalence to demonstrate outcome of a hypothetical national screening program. At any level of application, the prediction of false positives (nonabusing families labeled as abusing or potentially…

The objective of this study was to identify characteristics of the patient, training process, and test that were associated with the accuracy of the standardized patient's presentation of the clinical problem. The cohort consisted of 38 patients who were used to evaluate 98 medical students at the University of Manitoba in 1988. (MLW)

Discusses normal anogenital anatomy in children in relation to the medical evaluation of child sexual abuse and summarizes state of current knowledge. Suggestions for further research, including cross-sectional studies comparing normal and abused children, and cross-sectional and longitudinal studies comparing different racial/ethnic groups.…

Three examinations administered to medical students were analyzed to determine differences among severities of judges' assessments and among grading periods. The examinations included essay, clinical, and oral forms of the tests. Twelve judges graded the three essays for 32 examinees during a 4-day grading session, which was divided into eight…

Proposals have been developed to clarify physician responsibility in withholding treatment to terminally ill patients. These proposals seek to provide a legal shield against malpractice proceedings and to reduce confusion over how to resolve high medical costs through standardizing procedures for withholding treatment. When first published,…

This paper discusses perspectives on the relationship between parents and professionals in the diagnosis and treatment of children with autism. In the first section, the mother of an autistic adult recounts her early experiences in trying to obtain needed services and support for her then young child. A professional then describes the negative and…

An item format incorporating pattern recognition was designed to assess medical students' abilities in the area of clinical diagnosis. A group of approximately 20 faculty members of five New England medical schools met in Worcester for half of a day to develop pattern recognition items. Teams of four to six physicians were assigned to work on…

The papers in this publication were developed from speeches and reactions presented at the first National Conference on Remedial Mathematics held at Kent State University in 1974. Papers focus on identifying and describing the remedial mathematics student, classroom diagnosis, clinical diagnosis, the diagnostic process, and promising procedures…

The paper describes an auto-tutorial methodology for training veterinary medical practitioners to perform differential diagnoses. It describes in detail the three phases of differential diagnosis: sensory pick-up, a combination of cognition and memory; categorization, the process by which diagnosticians group symptoms and signs prior to diagnosis;…