Discusses the medical diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Describes the nature and origins of the condition and discusses approaches to its management, focusing on the controversy surrounding the social and educational value of the diagnosis. Examines the potential contribution of the ADHD diagnosis in promoting social…

This article reviews research on children with specific language impairment (SLI), a significant limitation in language ability in the absence of accompanying hearing impairments, low nonverbal intelligence, or neurological damage. Research is discussed on the heterogeneity of the children with SLI, diagnostic criteria for SLI, auditory…

School counselors are in daily contact with the highest risk group for developing eating disorders--children and adolescents. School counselors are in a position to identify at-risk individuals, implement effective school-based prevention programs, make appropriate referrals, and provide support for recovering individuals. An overview of a theory…

Once considered rare in children, pediatric bipolar disorder is now widely diagnosed in the United States. The illness has become a cultural phenomenon, adorning the cover of Time magazine and headlining national news broadcasts. Kowatch and colleagues, in compiling consensus recommendations for bipolar disorder in children and adolescents, have…

Children with voice disorders do respond to treatment, with vocal hyperfunction being the predominant disorder on the caseload of the pediatric voice clinician. This article reviews the literature in describing what is known about these children and typical disorders, prevention of voice disorders, the need for treatment, the referral patterns of…

The present study investigated dysarthric symptoms in children with cerebellar tumors. Ten children with cerebellar tumors and 10 orthopedic control children were tested prior and one week after surgery. Clinical dysarthric symptoms were quantified in spontaneous speech. Syllable durations were analyzed in syllable repetition and sentence…

Despite prominent attentional symptoms in Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) the relationship between PDD and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has received little direct examination. In addition, outcome studies of children with PDD often focus on language, educational placement, or adaptive skills, but seldom on loss of the…

The largest single incident of the Northern Ireland conflict took place in Omagh on 15 August 1998 when a car bomb exploded in the town centre killing 29 people in addition to two children (unborn twins). Four hundred were injured, 135 were hospitalised and 26 families were bereaved. The Community Trauma and Recovery Team was established following…

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of the Attention Problem Scale of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL-APS) for the screening of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in a sample of Brazilian children and adolescents. Methods: The CBCL-APS was given to 763 children and adolescents. Child psychiatrists using DSM-IV…

A previous project by the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities analysed data that had been collected by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in 1999 in their survey of the mental health of children and adolescents in Great Britain. The Foundation found that in this nationally representative sample of just over 10,000 children, 39%…

Diagnosing ADHD based primarily on symptom reports assumes that the number/frequency of symptoms is tied closely to the impairment imposed on an individual's functioning. That presumed linkage encourages diagnosis more by "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (4th ed.) style symptom lists than well-defined,…

This study examines the relation between family instability and child maladjustment over a 6-year period in 369 children from four communities. Measures were collected annually from kindergarten through fifth grade. In associative growth curve models, family instability trajectories predicted children's externalizing and internalizing behavior…

The purposes of this study were to: (1) identify the educational characteristics of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Undifferentiated Attention Deficit Disorder (UADD); and (2) to discuss the clinical implications of the current DSM-III-R diagnostic procedures of these disorders. Specifically, the differences in…

Although many clinicians use drawing tasks to assess children who have been exposed to family violence, few professionals are aware of current research in this area. Professionals should be apprised of the graphic indicators of child abuse in drawings, reliable art-based assessment tools, and legal and ethical principles surrounding the use of…