摘要:

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.

ISSN:0196-206X    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2001

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Physicians often elicit ratings from teachers when making diagnostic, treatment, or referral decisions. The purpose of this study was to view the relationship between teachers' ratings and children's academic skills, assess the utility of teacher ratings in detecting academic problems, and thus determine whether physicians can depend on teacher ratings when making decisions about patients' needs. Subjects were a national sample of 80 teachers and 934 children between 6 and 13 years of age participating in a test standardization study. Families were representative of United States demographics in terms of parental level of education, income, and ethnicity, and sites were geographically diverse elementary schools. Children were administered the Comprehensive Inventory of Basic Skills-Revised (CIBS-R), a diagnostic academic achievement test. Teachers rated children's academic performance on a five-point scale ranging from far above average to far below average and were blinded to the results of the CIBS-R. Teacher ratings varied significantly with children's performance for all academic domains. Logistic regression revealed that teacher ratings were best predicted by children's performance in basic reading skills, followed by math skills, and were not influenced by race, parents' level of education, history of retention, or gender. Participation in Title I services, testing in winter or spring, and parents who spoke a language other than English produced significantly lower ratings. Nevertheless, teachers rated as average many students with mild to moderate academic difficulties. School system personnel and health care providers should avoid sole dependence on global teacher ratings when deciding which students need special education referrals or other services. Supplementing teacher ratings with standardized screening test results is needed to ensure accurate decision-making.

ISSN:0196-206X    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2001

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:0196-206X    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2001

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

A situational analysis of problematic situations was conducted for 37 caregivers of children with sickle cell disease (SCD) who ranged in age from 5 to 13 years. Participants responded to a semistructured interview related to caring for a child with SCD. The interview included the domains of medication adherence, nutrition, minimizing and coping with pain episodes, social problems, academic difficulties, and children's expression of negative feelings related to having SCD. Caregivers described a total of 356 problems. Almost all caregivers reported experiencing problems with their children's nutrition (n = 35), minimizing pain episodes (n = 34), and their children expressing feelings about having SCD (n = 33). Moderately challenging and emotionally upsetting problems were reported for coping with pain episodes. The total number of problems was significantly higher for boys than for girls. Nutrition issues were more frequently reported for younger children. Findings have salient clinical implications for the care of children with SCD.

ISSN:0196-206X    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2001

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Previous attempts to reduce the effects of television advertising on children's purchase requests have had little success. Therefore, we tested the effects of a classroom intervention to reduce television, videotape, and video game use on children's toy purchase requests, in a school-based randomized controlled trial. Third- and fourth-grade children (mean age, 8.9 years) in two sociodemographically and scholastically matched public elementary schools were eligible to participate. Children in one randomly selected elementary school received an 18-lesson, 6-month classroom curriculum to reduce television, videotape, and video game use. In both schools, in September (before intervention) and April (after intervention) of a single school year, children and parents reported children's prior week's purchase requests for toys seen on television. After intervention, children in the intervention school were significantly less likely to report toy purchase requests than children in the control school, with adjusting for baseline purchase requests, gender, and age (odds ratio, 0.29; 95% confidence interval, 0.12-0.69). Among intervention school children, reductions in self-reported purchase requests were also associated with reductions in television viewing. There was no significant difference between schools in parent reports of children's requests for toy purchases. These findings suggest that reducing television viewing is a promising approach to reducing the influences of advertising on children's behavior.

ISSN:0196-206X    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2001

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:0196-206X    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2001

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Sam is a 7-year, 10-month-old boy who was referred to his pediatrician in March of his second grade for assessment because he is behind academically and his teacher wonders if he has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Both parents came for the initial interview. No special assessments have been completed by the school except that the mother recalls that Sam was given a language screening in kindergarten because he had trouble pronouncing the sound "r." Sam was enrolled in a reading tutoring program last year but has not received extra tutoring or supplemental school services this year. Sam has good gross motor skills and has many same-age friends. He has difficulty with handwriting. He has always been considered compliant and good at following adult directions until this school year. Sam is considered noncompliant by his current teacher. He often fails to start or complete assignments that have been given to the class but has no aggressive or significant externalizing behaviors. Spelling, writing, and reading are considered to be below grade level by his teacher, but math skills are considered to be at grade level. Teacher and parental questionnaires and parental history were not suggestive of ADHD.Sam lives with his parents and older sister. There is no family history of learning disabilities, ADHD, or psychiatric conditions. Both parents completed college and are employed outside the home. There have been no recent significant changes for the family. Birth history is unremarkable. Sam has had no loss of consciousness or episodes of otitis media. He has normal sleep and growth and no history of bedwetting. Sam's early development was considered typical except for slight articulation errors noted in kindergarten which resolved spontaneously. The screening test completed by the speech therapist at that time was informal and no records were kept.On examination, Sam is a cute, compliant child with a normal physical and neurological examination except for mixed hand dominance and mild overflow movements. Sam's height and weight are 50th percentile for his age. His conversation is typical. When he was asked to read an easy Dr. Seuss book, he frequently guessed at words and seemed to use the pictures as cues. He was clearly not a fluent reader. His pediatrician considered referring Sam to a psychologist for more comprehensive testing, but Sam's parents worried about their ability to pay for such testing. Because Sam is having significant difficulty at school, Sam's pediatrician wonders how she can help Sam access evaluation and treatment services through his public school.

ISSN:0196-206X    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2001

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:0196-206X    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2001

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:0196-206X    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2001

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:0196-206X    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2001

数据来源: OVID