American journal of mental retardation : AJMR最新文献

The relation between level of intellectual functioning and risk for associated symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was investigated. Cognitive ability and associated symptoms were assessed directly and/or via parent report in 74 children with ASD at 6 and 9 years of age. Participants were classified as lower and higher functioning using Nonverbal and Verbal IQ and Communication scores on the Vineland at age 6. Children with higher functioning at age 6 displayed increased internalizing symptoms by age 9, whereas children with lower functioning displayed higher hyperactivity, attention problems, and irritability by age 9. Results suggest that level of intellectual functioning may be a risk factor for different patterns of associated symptoms by later childhood.

Children's emotion dysregulation and maternal scaffolding at age 4 were examined as predictors of social skills at age 6, for 66 children with and 106 without early developmental delays. Observed scaffolding and regulation during frustrating laboratory tasks related to later mother, father, and teacher social-skill ratings for children with delays and were stronger predictors of social skills within this group than were developmental level and early behavior problems. In contrast, fewer associations were found for typically developing children, with early behavior problems providing the only unique prediction to social skills. Data support a model in which dysregulation partially mediates the association between developmental status and social-skill outcomes. Implications for research, prevention, and early intervention are discussed.

The influence of social and information-processing demands on eye-gaze avoidance in individuals with fragile X syndrome, Down syndrome, or typical development were examined by manipulating those demands in a structured-language task. Participants with fragile X syndrome exhibited more gaze avoidance than did those in the comparison groups, but no group differences in avoidance were found between a social and nonsocial condition. Task difficulty affected gaze avoidance in the nonsocial but not in the social condition. In the nonsocial condition, the effect of task difficulty was less pronounced for the fragile X syndrome than comparison groups. Findings suggest that multimodal task demands rather than eye contact per se contribute to gaze avoidance in persons with fragile X syndrome.

Understanding positive, as well as negative, impact of a child with mental retardation will lead to a more balanced view of families and disability. In two studies we examined parents' perceived positive impact of a child with MR/DD. Study 1 involved 282 young adults with severe mental retardation; Study 2 involved 214 young children with, or without, developmental delays. In both studies, positive impact was inversely related to behavior problems. Moreover, positive impact moderated the relationship between behavior problems and parenting stress. Also, main and moderating effects of positive impact differed by parent ethnicity. Latina mothers reported higher positive impact than Anglo mothers did when the child had MR/DD. These findings are discussed in the context of cultural beliefs.

We asked 27 Euro American teens ages 16 to 17 with developmental disabilities in Los Angeles to describe friendships. Eleven characteristics of friendship reported in the research literature (similarity, proximity, transcending context, companionship, reciprocity, mutuality, intimacy, support, trust/loyalty, conflict management, and stability) were mentioned by at least some teens. However, most teens focused on companionship, doing activities across contexts, similarity in interests/personality, sheer proximity, and stability. Gender did not influence number or types of themes reported. Teens with higher IQ/Vineland Communication scores mentioned more friendship themes and were less positive about their friendships. Most teens reported some satisfying friendships, and friendships between peers with developmental disability usually were more stable and positive than friendships with typically developing peers.

Teenagers with mental retardation and two groups of children without mental retardation matched on MA or CA carried out mental rotation tasks of unfamiliar stimuli. Three shapes composed of four arms were used. For each shape, there was a version with a salient feature (F+), and a version with no salient feature (F-). Results showed that teenagers with mental retardation could perform mental rotation tasks with unfamiliar stimuli. However, they had a steeper increase in error rate for F- stimuli than did the MA and CA groups. Individuals with mental retardation may have difficulties in performing mental rotation tasks when stimuli have no feature with a salient axis of elongation.

The dietary intake of adults with mental retardation among three different community residential settings was described and compared. Two dietary screeners were administered to 325 adults. The women's Fruit and Vegetable Screener scores from group homes were significantly higher than scores from those with family members and in semi-independent settings. No significant differences were found in dietary intake across residences for men. Overall, 0% to 6% of the participants consumed the recommended 5 or more fruits and vegetables per day, and 15% to 30% consumed the recommended

Collaborative learning is widely used in mainstream education but rarely utilized with children who have intellectual disabilities, possibly on the assumption that the metacognitive skills on which it capitalizes are less likely to be available. Effects of collaborative learning experience on a core cognitive skill, sorting by category, were investigated in three child groups: typically developing (TD) children, children with nonspecific intellectual disabilities (NSID) and children with Down syndrome (DS). Following collaboration, sorting performance improved significantly in lower ability partners in TD-TD pairings, with this pattern reversed in NSID-NSID pairings. Neither partner improved significantly in DS-NSID pairings, suggesting that the sociability attributed to children with DS did not necessarily support either their or their partner's learning in this social context.

Psychometric properties are described for an inventory that measures the daily rewards and worries that parents experience as their sons and daughters transition to adulthood. In a series of 4 studies involving 847 respondents, we explored and confirmed the factor structure of the Transition Daily Rewards and Worries Questionnaire (TDRWQ) in a sample that included transitioning individuals with and without disabilities. The final questionnaire includes 28 items in 4 factors: Positive Future Orientation, Community Resources, Financial Independence, and Family Relations. Evidence of acceptable internal and test- retest reliability is presented, as is discriminant and convergent validity. The TDRWQ should enhance the quantitative approach to understanding parental reactions as sons and daughters make the transition to adulthood.