The Tasks of Emotional Development is an apperceptive test that has the additional advantage of a specific developmental focus. Test administration and interpretation are described, focusing on use with adults with mental retardation. It is concluded that the test minimizes many biases plaguing accurate psychodiagnosis with this group. (JDD)

The NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI) is described as a measure of five factors of personality and its use in clinical assessment and treatment practice is reviewed. Data from 17 adult men and women show links between NEO-PI scales and other measures of psychopathology. (SLD)

A study tested the validity of the Diagnostic Assessment for the Severely Handicapped-II (DASH-II) for determining the presence of mania (bipolar disorder) in 22 individuals with severe mental retardation. Results found the mania subscale to be internally consistent and able to be used to classify manic and control subjects accurately. (Author/CR)

A study compared characteristics of individuals with mild retardation and clinically classified as autistic disorder (n=205), Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDDNOS) (n=80), and other non-PDD disorders (n=174). Only a few items from the ICD-10 and DSM-IV discriminated the PDDNOS group from other disorders. Suggested…

A study investigated the effectiveness of a phenotypic checklist for identifying 110 males with fragile X syndrome and 79 controls, matched for age, level of cognitive development, and social adaptation. Results indicated that those boys who are likely to be diagnosed as having fragile X syndrome can be identified. (Contains references.)…

An evaluation was made of the empirical validity of the Diagnostic Assessment for the Severely Handicapped-II (DASH-II) with 51 individuals with severe/profound mental retardation, some of whom were also diagnosed with autism, and controls. The Autism/Pervasive Developmental Disorder subscale of the DASH-II was internally consistent and just as…

A study investigated the incidence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in 86 adults with severe mental retardation. Using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 15% of the sample met the diagnostic criteria. This measure was not influenced by chronological age, adaptive age, IQ, or gender. (Author/CR)

Discusses the bio-psycho-social disease consequence model in rehabilitation and the model's development in the Finnish "Work Hardening Program for Chronic Pain." The theoretical background of the model is explained and the possibility of applying the model to other fields of rehabilitation is explored. (Author/CR)

This report describes the status of 70 adults (ages 22 to 60 at the longitudinal study's beginning) with Down syndrome who are being followed for signs of dementia. After 10 years, 12 met all criteria for dementia, 40 met subsets of criteria, and 18 met no criteria. Information is provided on choice and revision of instruments and dementia…

This article discusses using the term "general learning disorder" instead of "mental retardation." It addresses the offensiveness of the current label, discusses ingredients needed in a more appropriate diagnostic term, and offers a proposed grouping of developmental disabilities based on cognitive ability, language ability, physical ability, and…

This chapter examines how HIV-positive adults made sense of their diagnosis. Individuals experienced a perspective transformation or change in worldview, which was found to hold over time. Changes in meaning schemes or individual beliefs and assumptions occurred over time.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Second Edition was administered to 20 adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who fell in the average to above average range of intelligence and 24 age-, intelligence-, and gender-matched college students. Large group differences, with the ASD group scoring higher, were found on the L validity…

High-risk studies are undertaken for at least four reasons: (1) to derive predictors of who will develop the condition being studied that will allow earlier intervention and prevention; (2) to understand the breadth of risk (i.e., if there are other related symptoms, conditions, and impairment related to the condition being studied); (3) to…

At the present time there are a large number of adults who have "suspected" Asperger syndrome (AS). In this paper we describe a new instrument, the Adult Asperger Assessment (AAA), developed in our clinic for adults with AS. The need for a new instrument relevant to the diagnosis of AS in adulthood arises because existing instruments are designed…

The objective of this study was to understand the relationship between health survey and medical chart based information. The study population consisted of adult patients (17 years of age and older) attending the Bella Coola Medical Clinic who also completed a detailed Health and Quality of Life Survey. A total of 674 adults completed the Health…