The effects of early motor intervention on children with Down syndrome or cerebral palsy: a field-based study.

This study reports the results of a field-based investigation of the effects of two motor intervention approaches--neurodevelopmental treatment and developmental skills--on children with two different diagnoses. The sample included 50 children, of whom 27 were diagnosed as having Down syndrome and 23 as having cerebral palsy. Children had a mean chronological age of 14 months at the beginning of the study. The severity of their motor impairment was assessed with the Gross Motor Function Classification System for Cerebral Palsy. Children's motor functioning was examined at entry into the study and after they received 1 year of motor intervention services. Dependent measures included children's general development, rate of motor development, and quality of movement. Pre-post comparisons indicated that children made significant changes in their motor development age and quality of movement over the course of intervention. However, there was no evidence that motor intervention accelerated development or improved quality of movement beyond what could be expected on the basis of maturation. Furthermore, no differential intervention effects were associated either with children's diagnosis or treatment model. Regression analyses indicated that the rate of motor development children attained after 1 year of intervention was highly related to their rate of development at the onset of intervention and, to a lesser degree, to the number of sessions of intervention children received. These results are discussed in terms of the need for the field of motor intervention to develop new treatment paradigms.

Treating substance-using women and their children in public housing: preliminary evaluation findings.

The Key West Housing Authority created SafePort, a residential substance abuse treatment program within public housing to provide drug treatment to parenting women. All family members-women, children, and significant others-receive comprehensive assessments to determine appropriate therapeutic interventions to resolve their problems. Preliminary evaluation findings suggest that women who participate with their children are more likely to remain drug free than are those who participated without their children.

Program evaluation findings of an intensive early intervention program.

An intensive early intervention program was evaluated through determining child gains made by 44 children with special needs in cognition, gross-motor, fine-motor, receptive language, and expressive language domains. Gains were examined for the total group and two subgroups based upon their delays at pretesting. Analyses comparing actual to predicted posttest scores for the total group did not reveal statistically significant gains in any domains. Findings by subgroup revealed that in cognition, gross-motor, and fine-motor domains, the group with less severe impairments made more progress. Results were interpreted in light of constraints imposed by the measurement tools and discussed in terms of policy implications and the limitations involved in conducting quality program evaluation in early intervention.

Maternal education and maternal responsiveness as predictors of play competence in low birth weight, premature infants: a preliminary report.

Videotaped play interactions of 182 low birth weight, premature toddlers and their mothers were used to investigate whether a model including maternal responsiveness together with level of maternal education was a better predictor of play maturity scores of the children than a model consisting of education level alone. The videotapes were coded using the responsiveness subscale of the Maternal Behavior Rating Scale. Regression analyses revealed that maternal education alone significantly predicted play scores, accounting for 9% of the variance. However, the model that included both maternal responsiveness and maternal education together also significantly predicted play scores and accounted for 20% of the variance. Including responsiveness together with maternal education significantly increased the proportion of variance accounted for by maternal education alone. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Trends in the assessment of infants and toddlers with disabilities.

Public Law 99-457 requires a multidisciplinary assessment and evaluation of children with disabilities in five domains: cognitive development, physical development, language and speech development, psychological development, and self-help skills; and this assessment must include information required in the Individualized Family Service Plan. A variety of assessment instruments are available, and some of the most notable are surveyed in this article. Traditional tests, as well as more current, naturalistic assessments, are reviewed. The author cautions against using one test for all purposes, or using a test that has an insufficient research base.

Stress and coping among parents of handicapped children: a multidimensional approach.

The relations of child characteristics, family social network, parent belief systems, and coping styles to parent outcome were examined with parents of 48 young handicapped children. Child characteristics predicted mothers' and fathers' parenting stress and fathers' psychological distress. Parental belief systems predicted all three parent outcomes for mothers and fathers. Coping styles predicted psychological distress and fathers' family adjustment. Social network predicted family adjustment and fathers' psychological distress. Psychological distress was low in mothers who had either a positive belief system or a noncritical family network. Findings support the value of a multidimensional examination of family characteristics that mediate the impact of a child's handicap.

Vitamin therapy and children with Down syndrome: a review of research.

The claim that large doses of vitamin-mineral supplements benefit mentally retarded children has captured the attention of the general public and the medical profession. A study by Harrell, Capp, Davis, Pearless, and Ravitz (1981) reported increases in IQ and improvements in behavior among mentally retarded subjects (one third of whom were children with Down syndrome) receiving nutritional supplementation. However, subsequent studies, focusing exclusively on children with Down syndrome and using less flawed research designs, have demonstrated that vitamin therapy is not useful for members of this population.

Comparison of sensory integrative therapy and motor programming.

The relative effects of individualized sensory integrative therapy vs. small group, gross-motor programs were examined with a group of preschool children with mild to moderate motor delays. Children in the sensory integrative therapy group received one-to-one treatment twice weekly. Children in the motor-programming group received intervention four times weekly in small groups of three to four. Both intervention programs were carried out simultaneously for 17 weeks. No significant between group differences were observed in gross-motor gains on the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales or in sensorimotor gains on the Assessment of Sensory Integration in Preschool Children. Results of this study compared to results of similar previous studies were discussed.

Mechanized blood grouping: a hospital trial using an 8-channel grouping machine.

ABO and Rh (D) groups of 6403 blood samples were assessed on an 8/9-channel autoanalyser in the Serology Department of the London Hospital; the results were independently checked at the Regional Blood Transfusion Centre, Brentwood, using the routine methods for grouping donor blood. Results of this comparative study are given and instances are described in which anomalous results or incorrect groupings occurred; the possible causes are discussed. The 8/9-channel automated blood group analyser is evaluated in terms of routine hospital laboratory practice.