Provided is a collection of presentations from a conference for ophthalmologists, optometrists, and educators meeting to exchange their concerns and share knowledge on various types of sensory handicaps of deaf blind children. The conference is seen as an introduction to the needs of deaf blind children and to the importance of stating diagnostic…

Many variables mitigate against a culture-fair test being devised. The Queensland Test--which has been administered to Aboriginal children--is probably fairer than most IQ tests, although it appears to measure the degree of contact with Western culture (implying socio-economic variables) rather than mental and chronological age or cognitive…

Records of 250 children and adolescents admitted to a psychiatric hospital were grouped according to their educational status prior to admission as follows: nondisabled students (46%), students with serious emotional disturbance (36%), and students with other disabilities (18%). Differences among the three groups were found on gender, psychiatric…

The Achenbach and Edelbrock parent and teacher checklists were evaluated with boys, ages 6-11, with either severe emotional disturbance, psychiatric outpatient status, or in the general population. Logistic regression analyses showed the Total Problem scales of both checklists to be the most efficient and economical scales for classification.…

Three studies obtained teacher-reported prevalence rates for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other behavior disorders using the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) criteria; compared rates with the prevalence for DSM-III-R and DSM-III within the same population of elementary students; examined the…

Twenty children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and low IQs were followed up 4.5 years later (ages 8-20). A majority continued to screen positive for ADHD, as well as display high rates of comorbid anxiety disorders, tics, and elimination disorders. Multiple medication trials resulted in significantly lower hyperactivity…

Purpose: The primary aim of this study was to examine differences in speech/language and written language skills between children with suspected childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) and children with other speech-sound disorders at school age. Method: Ten children (7 males and 3 females) who were clinically diagnosed with CAS (CAS group) were…

Guidelines are offered for mental health professionals who work with economically disadvantaged children and adolescents from culturally diverse backgrounds. These guidelines describe useful theoretical constructs, suggest ways to sensitize assessments of minority children, and outline treatment strategies to obtain better clinical results. The…

This self-study manual, for use by individuals or groups, was developed as a resource for social work practitioners and focuses on the assessment, intervention, and prevention of adolescent abuse and neglect. The introduction presents the philosophy of continuing education on which the manual is based, an overview of the manual, and an article on…

This report covers Phase I of the Burn Injury Education Demonstration Project, a four-phased project designed to explore the feasibility of using educational intervention strategies to increase knowledge and appropriate behaviors and attitudes to reduce the number and severity of burns. Phase I involved a comprehensive needs assessment conducted…

These three symposium papers summarize the outcomes of studies that explored the accessibility and the utilization of youth mental health services. The first study, "The Role of Diagnostic Systems" (Theodore Fallon and Mary Schwab-Stone), involving 219 children (ages 6-12), examined the perils involved in the use of categorical diagnosis to…

This paper reports on initial implementation of a state required process for determining eligibility of children and adolescents for Massachusetts Department of Mental Health Programs. Three criteria are used for determining eligibility: a diagnosable mental, behavior, or emotional disorder; impairment of one year's duration; and establishment of…

Cooperative training programs were evaluated through content analysis of 74 role-played interviews of video-recorded investigations that focused on culturally relevant questioning skills. Results identified 119 questions and statements rated by professionals as helpful in interviewing children suspected of having been sexually abused. All…

There is an increased incidence of language-learning disabilities with dyslexia by school age. As infants and toddlers, these children have neuromotor and speech dysfunction within their first year. This article postulates that the language and motor dysfunction is caused by infantile presentation of developmental dyspraxia rather than a…

In a study of special education programs in five urban school districts, parent interview data for 1,726 children (elementary school students) indicated how the students' problems were identified and how the medical system was involved in the diagnosis. Implications for physicians and educators are discussed. (SLD)