A sample of chronic postconcussive patients with and without overt malingering signs was compared with objectively brain-injured patients (total sample=106) on common episodic memory and malingered amnesia measures. Findings validate commonly cited malingering measures and new methods of classifying malingering in real-world clinical samples. (SLD)

This study compared DSM-III-R (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual III, Revised), Childhood Autism Rating Scale, and clinical diagnoses of 138 admissions to a program for diagnosis and treatment of autistic and related communication-handicapped individuals. Results indicated generally high agreement on the diagnosis of autism, with DSM-III-R…

This paper assesses to what extent the ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases) criteria differ from other diagnostic systems for Asperger syndrome. The paper concludes that the variety of criteria in use makes interpretation of research findings difficult and that the ICD-10 criteria are the most stringent and closest to Hans Asperger's…

Empirical research highlights the need for improving the childhood anxiety disorder diagnostic classification system. In particular, inconsistencies in the stability estimates of childhood anxiety disorders and high rates of comorbidity call into the question the utility of the current "DSM" criteria. This paper makes a case for utilizing a…

This is the first of two articles that provide a critique of categorisation and of the biomedical interpretation of personal adjustment issues experienced by children and youth. In this paper the appraisal is made by the devising of an imaginary mental illness, through the presentation of some important theoretical frameworks, by considering…

Childhood schizophrenia is a rare but serious disorder with complex symptoms that affect children and their families. Childhood schizophrenia was once the term applied for all childhood psychoses, including autism and mood disorders, but more recently researchers have distinguished childhood schizophrenia from other disorders. There are differing…

Descriptions by various professionals of 70 multiply handicapped deaf-blind children evaluated at the Syracuse University Center for the Development of Blind Children were examined for terminology used to describe the child and his life situation. Purposes were to develop some epidemiological characteristics of the multiply handicapped, deaf-blind…

Patients were classified into categories using Spitzer and Endicott's computer program for diagnosis. Analyses of variance using single and grouped scales and discriminant analyses predicting category membership suggested that narrow band categorization is better predicted by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory than is broad band…

Chest pain was identified as a specific medical problem space, and disease classes were modeled to define it. Results from a test taken by 628 medical residents indicate a second-order factor structure that suggests that chest pain is a multidimensional problem space. Implications for medical education are discussed. (SLD)

Discusses diagnostic and functional classification, assessment, and treatment approaches for school refusal behavior. Diagnostic classification focuses on separation anxiety disorder, specific phobia, social phobia, depression, and truancy. Functional classification focuses on the maintaining consequences of the behavior, such as avoidance of…

The prevalence of epilepsy was correlated with the severity and type of encephalopathy of 1,023 individuals with mental retardation. A total of 326 individuals were diagnosed with epilepsy. Results indicated a low percentage of epilepsy in chromosomic-genetic and young adult encephalopathies and a high prevalence when the neurodeficit was…

This paper responds to a critique (EC 601 489) of a paper on the possible involuntary nature of self-injurious movements in persons with mental retardation, resulting from undiagnosed frontal lobe seizures. The response discusses electroencephalographic techniques, the importance of observable ictal phenomena, the need for other corroborating…

Discusses what children with developmental language disorders should be called, how they should be defined, and how we might differentiate children with specific language impairments from other children with developmental language disorders. The lack of congruence between clinical and research constructs is discussed. (Author/CR)

This article discusses the causes of tinnitus, sound or noise in the ears or head without any external stimulation. Classification of tinnitus, the essentials of medical evaluation of a patient with tinnitus, essential test procedures, and current concepts in the management of tinnitus are addressed. (CR)