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Six papers consider various aspects of the education and treatment of emotionally disturbed children. B.S. Parsonson examines the rationale and efficacy of the application of learning theory principles to the modification of deviant behavior. The need for family therapy is discussed by J.E. Ritchie, who focuses upon the environmental causes and social context of emotional disturbance. The family is seen as a possible context for distorted communications maintained as a pathological homeostasis. Therapeutic qualities of group counseling are described by D.R. Mitchell in behavioral terms (reinforcement, modeling, desensitization) while the group is seen as a social microcosm with multiple relationships. L.G. Rhodes suggests that disturbed children are possible not best served by adjustment classes, in the light of efficacy studies and study of the effects of disability labels on teacher expectancies. Institutional care of socially maladjusted children is examined by B.C. Atwool, while Muriel Blackburn focuses on the diagnosis, etiology, and treatment of autism. (KW)

Presented are proceedings of the 4th annual (1972) meeting of the National Society for Autistic Children including 11 papers given at the meeting. Listed are officers and board members of the society, the convention committee members, and recipients of citations and awards. The president's report notes past goals, accomplishments, and future goals; and the text of a resolution urges federal involvement in the needs of autistic children. The papers address the following topics: a 1972 progress report on child priority (keynote address); a community based therapeutic program; research progress in areas of vitamins, hypoglycemia, and food intolerances; a description of the Flint, Michigan program which coordinates community services with the educational system; problems in the modification of verbal behavior; a hospital based therapeutic nursery program; a prevocational training program; work with autistic children in the United Kingdom; an interview with a rehabilitated autistic adult; perceptual development in autistic children; and a followup study of childhood schizophrenia. (DB)

Sixteen papers are provided. B. F. Skinner discusses the arrangement of contingencies for learning: Lloyd Homme describes behavioral engineering; and Frank Hewett considers behavior modification in special education. Also treated are experimental education by Norris Haring, program evaluation by Arthur Lumsdaine, and administration of special classes by Harold Kunzelmann. John Cawley presents a system of initial reading instruction; Max Jerman surveys computer assisted instruction; and Thomas Robertson examines the impact of educational technology. Further papers are on teaching children with behavior disorders by Richard Whelan, developing cooperative social behavior by Laurence Peter, providing academic and social classroom management by Harold Kunzelmann, and using operant reinforcement with autistic children by Charles Ferster. In addition, Thomas Lovitt sets forth a basis for systematic replication of a contingency management classroom; Richard Kothera discusses educational environments and administration; and Max Mueller reviews trends in research in the education of the handicapped. (JD)

One in a series of over 50 similar selected listings, the bibliography contains 47 items of research reports, conference papers, journal articles, texts, and program guides selected from "Exceptional Child Education Abstracts". Each entry on autism provides bibliographical data, availability information, indexing and retrieval descriptors, and abstracts of the documents. (RD)

In studies of preschool children, four clusters of symptoms seem most useful in characterizing those children who manifest autism: (1) failure to establish human relatedness and meaningful social attachments; (2) impairment of motivation to become competent; (3) disturbances of perceptual integration; and (4) impairment of the development of cognitive functions. One of the most important impairments of autistic children is perceptual inconstancy (irregularity in the processing of sensory data by the various receptor systems). The likelihood of physiological and biochemical changes under autistic conditions of sensory deprivation require that perceptual patterns be promoted in the child as early as possible. A program of treatment for the autistic child should include parent participation and parent education, with the goal of reducing distortions in the parent-child relationship. Otherwise, treatment of the preschool autistic child should be concerned with establishing perceptual organization and cortical control over his sensory experiences. Further research is needed on the relationship between parental attitudes or child rearing practices and the existence of an autistic child. (WD)

BY POINTING UP SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BRAINS AND COMPUTERS, WE PRESENT CYBERNETIC CONCEPTS WHICH MAY PROVE RELEVANT TO THE MENTAL HEALTH WORKER IN HIS INVESTIGATION OF MENTAL PROCESSES. WE FOCUS ESPECIALLY ON THE MENTAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD, AND USE AS TENTATIVE ILLUSTRATIONS THE PROBLEM AND SYMPTOMATOLOGY OF INFANTILE AUTISM AND THE SO-CALLED "CHILDHOOD SCHIZOPHRENIAS." THIS PAPER WAS SUBMITTED FOR PUBLICATION TO THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY AND WAS PRESENTED AT THE 45TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN ORTHOPSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION (CHICAGO, MARCH 1968). (AUTHOR)

A survey of children aged 8, 9, and 10 resident in the former County of Middlesex on 1 January 1964 showed that 4.5 per 10,000 had "autistic conditions of early childhood." This means that there are about twice as many autistic children in the country as there are blind children. There was a raised male-female ratio but no special birth order. Autistic children were more likely to have suffered from complications during oregnancy and delivery than their siblings, and one-half had marked delay in motor milestones. It was confirmed that the parents of autistic children (particularly those in the " nuclear group ") were likely to be above average in educational attain ment, occupational level, and intelligence. There was no evidence for a genetic or clinical relationship between early childhood autism and schizophrenia. Clinical and educational services still leave much to be desired. References

Establishing the nature of relationship between Linguistics and bio-sciences, especially Genetic Studies is nether an imagination today, nor an ambitious project at all, as psychologists, linguists and genetic scientists started to put there keen interest in this endeavour at the beginning of the twentieth-first century. The study of FOXP2-a potential human gene responsible for the degeneration of half of the members of famous KE family's speech and language performances, starts an epoch-making initiative in this regard. This paper provides a brief description of the research projects dedicated to explore POXP2 gene, including identifying speech and language behaviour of human beings with particular reference to this gene. Key Words: Grammar gene, language development, autism, SLI, Dyspraxia.DOI: 10.3329/dujl.v2i3.4151 The Dhaka University Journal of Linguistics: Vol.2 No.3 February, 2009 Page: 173-184

This paper will describe a new instrument designed to evaluate the status of autistic children and to measure changes in their behavior. The instrument consists of four core Scales, each of which delineates a category of behavior relevant to early autism. The Scales are graded in descriptive levels, ranging from the most severe autistic behavior to relatively normal behavior in a child approximately six years old. In addition, there are three supplemental Scales based on standard psychometric techniques, which are helpful in comparing autistic behavior with that of normal development. The instrument attempts to combine the complexity, richness, and sensitivity of a clinical evaluation with the objectivity of a behavioral rating scale. It has proven to be highly reliable when used by individuals with differing professional experience in a variety of clinical settings.

In the paper, the author discusses educational interactions focused on a child with autism. The first part of the study presents the characteristics of functioning of an autistic child, taking into account specific needs and difficulties. The research material was used to present the specificity of child’s functioning in certain developmental spheres: socio-emotional sphere, cognitive sphere, self-care, communication, sensory integration and motor integration. Bearing in mind a multi-profile diagnosis of the disorder and including various spheres of child’s functioning, the diagnosis was referenced to programming the process of support. The author concludes by presenting a reflection on dilemmas and challenges in education of autistic children.