The author discusses the development of social skills by the physically disabled adolescent, ways parents can help, the development of intimate adult relationships, and the effects of cerebral palsy on sexuality. Five organizations for the disabled or their families are listed. (DB)

Twenty-seven multiply handicapped cerebral palsied preschool children were administered the Preschool Attainment Record, The Vineland Maturity Scale, and the Gesell Developmental Schedules in order to assess concurrent validity on the first measure. Significant correlations were obtained among the three measures. (Author/JKS)

This study examined use of benztropine drug therapy to control drooling in 3 children (ages 5, 9, and 12) with moderately severe cerebral palsy. Significant improvement in all three cases suggested a role for medication in the management of drooling in prepubescent children who fail to respond to physical therapy or behavioral programs. (DB)

Four visual imagery tasks were presented to three groups of adolescents with or without spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. The first group was composed of six adolescents with cerebral palsy who had associated visual-perceptual deficits (CP-PD), the second group was composed of five adolescents with cerebral palsy and no associated visual-perceptual…

The paper constitutes an examination of life management of post-secondary students with disabilities. Eight individuals, all in attendance at a Western-Canadian university, were interviewed. The purpose was to explore life management issues and transformational outcomes of living with a disability as reported by individuals with disabilities; and…

Neonatal microstructural development in the posterior limbs of the internal capsule (PLIC) was assessed using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) fractional anisotropy (FA) in 24 very-low-birthweight preterm infants at 37 weeks' gestational age and compared with the children's gait and motor deficits at 4 years of age. There were 14 participants with…

Communication can be difficult for children with conditions such as cerebral palsy because of speech and physical impairments. For this group of children, choice-making is often limited to choices of personal preferences; however, preferences do not reveal intellectual abilities. Therefore, choice-making should be presented to these children in…

A cross-sectional study investigated the role of both aging and disability on employment status over the life span. Current employment rates of 262 people with a disability and 115 people without a disability were compared. Impairments were polio, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke, and miscellaneous. Ages ranged from…

Little is known about the proportion of mothers of children with cerebral palsy (CP) who experience distress, particularly in terms of depressed and anxious moods. The present study aimed to address this issue by examining the level of maternal anxious and depressed moods. The associations between maternal psychological well-being and…

More children and adolescents who have chronic illnesses are being included in regular education classrooms today than ever before. However, teachers may not feel confident about being able to meet these children's educational, social, or emotional needs in the classroom. School psychologists are able to assess children's functioning in these…

The relationship between transition planning/coordinating interventions and transition outcomes for secondary-aged youth with disabilities was explored in this systematic review. A total of 31 studies intervening with 859 youth with a wide variety of disabilities were reviewed. Using the transition intervention framework of Kohler and Field (2003)…

This study examined the relative benefit of three interventions (i.e. physiological, behavioural, and pragmatic) designed to facilitate speech recognition software use. Participants were 15 adults with dysarthria associated with a variety of aetiological conditions, including cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease, and motor neuron disease. Results…

Although fluency instruction is an essential part of teaching reading, there is limited information on providing this type of instruction with students who have physical disabilities. This article examines three case studies across two students, one with cerebral palsy and the other with both arthrogryposis and spina bifida. In the first study,…

The normal aging process is not in itself a risk factor for constipation, but age-related morbidities, immobility, neurologic impairment or specific drugs are risk factors for constipation. This study was undertaken to examine the prevalence and risk factors for constipation in a large sample of 2400 persons with intellectual disability (ID) aged…

Participation in regular physical activity (PA) provides health, psychological, and physiological benefits for people with and without a physical disability. This study investigated the physical and sedentary activity patterns of adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP). A cross-sectional, descriptive, postal survey was used, consisting of the…