This study assessed the relationship between parent/teacher ratings of hyperactivity and developmental indices in psychiatric clinic children (ages 5-16). Findings suggest that chronological age should be considered when behavior ratings are used to assess cognitively delayed children for hyperactivity but do not support use of mental age in…

Comparison of 28 young children with autism, 29 children with other developmental disabilities, and 28 typical children found that autistic children were significantly less compliant with parental prohibitions than were control groups. This behavior correlated with chronological age, not with mental age, language development, or parental behavior.…

Background: Previous research has emphasized the importance of gesture in early communicative development. These studies have reported that gestures are used frequently during the first two years of life and may play a transitional role in the language acquisition process. Although there are now numerous descriptions of the relationship between…

The relationship between egocentrism and five components of social competence (decentering ability, social participation, helping behavior, conflict resolution, and egocentric speech) in young children was examined in this study. Measures of egocentrism, intelligence and social competence were obtained for each of 100 three-year-old children…

Discusses the reasons for the rise in IQ scores over time. Demonstrates the effect of the decrease in age at levels of schooling on the rise in IQ scores utilizing the data from the 1936 and 1968 standardization of the Otis Intermediate Test of Mental Ability, Form A, in New Zealand. (CMK)

A comparison of 33 Australian adolescents with Down syndrome who did not receive early intervention services and 41 adolescents with Down syndrome who had received early intervention services found no significant difference between the two cohorts in cognitive functioning. Socioeconomic status, mothers' education, and gender were predictors of…

Existing research suggests that children with intellectual disabilities are at increased risk for ADHD, and that the symptoms of the disorder might successfully be treated with stimulant drugs. However, there has been little exploration of ADHD symptoms and their correlates in children with intellectual disabilities. Analyses of three samples of…

Background: Several theorists maintain that exact number abilities rely on language-relevant processes whereas approximate number calls on visuo-spatial skills. We chose two genetic disorders, Williams syndrome and Down's syndrome, which differ in their relative abilities in verbal versus spatial skills, to examine this hypothesis. Five…

Tests hypotheses that social and object skills can be equated for cognitive complexity and that correlations between measures organized according to levels are high for all samples spanning the developmental range. Cognitive levels of both object and social skills were assessed for 50 normal and 34 handicapped children. Hypotheses were confirmed.…

Surveys 30 studies involving 104 separate tests of the "similar structure hypothesis" which holds that, when nonorganically impaired retarded and nonretarded persons are similar in developmental level, they are also similar in the processes and concepts by which they reason. (Researchers distinguished between studies that excluded…

Fast mapping of novel words for objects was compared in 48 children/adolescents with Down syndrome and 48 mental-age matched children. The groups did not differ in their ability to infer a connection between the novel word and referent, comprehend the novel word after a single exposure, and produce the novel word correctly. (Author/JDD)

Forty children with mental retardation were compared on everyday leisure-time behaviors with children without mental retardation matched for mental age (MA) or chronological age (CA). Although MA best predicted overall functioning on leisure-time behavior, CA best predicted both single highest behavior performed and highest behavior considered too…

Compared to children matched for mental or chronological age, 12 autistic children (ages 10-17) showed frontal lobe processing problems on neuropsychological tests. Subjects made more errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and the Milner Maze and took longer to complete the maze but copied a complex figure as accurately and speedily as…

Confluence theory was developed to explain the negative effects of birth order on intelligence. Using aggregate, between-family, within-family, and paired-sibling data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, tests the mathematical form of confluence theory and finds no support for it. Suggests that statistical methods used to fit the model to the…

This study found that 16 preschoolers with Down's syndrome attained higher age equivalents and standard scores in "socialization" than did 16 preschoolers with autism. Adaptive age equivalent was positively related to chronological age for children with Down's syndrome in all domains, but only in "communication" for children with autism.…