The paper examines the meaning of transitional objects and attachment to significant others in 18 severely retarded children (mean age 5.2 years). Five case studies illustrate that the use of objects and attachments can be seen as a normal phenomenon and that often the children are responding appropriately to emotional events with behaviors near…

Exploratory behavior of educationally mentally retarded 7- to 12-year-old children was compared to that of two independent groups of normal children matched on chronological and mental age. In a multidimensional assessment of exploration, results suggested that delays in exploratory behavior in retarded children are developmental in nature, and…

Since early research had shown that a total score on 27 Piagetian tasks was very highly correlated with a Wechsler and achievement composite, a study investigated the possibility of shortening the Piagetian test by means of classical analysis methodology. (HOD)

Evaluation of 17 children with autism at the ages of 6 to 15 and then again at ages 13 to 25, suggested that, for the majority of people with autism, there may be little development of a theory of mind. For a minority, development may extend to the equivalent of a 3- to 4-year-old level by the teenage years. (JDD)

Forty-nine children (ages 8-17) with mental retardation recognized facial expressions less accurately than did subjects without retardation who were matched on chronological age. Mental age-matched groups showed no differences in accuracy at a younger mental age, but a difference was found at an older mental age. (Author/JDD)