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The article cites a study on the use of standard materials and activities in the day school programs for seriously disturbed children offered by Forum School in Ridgewood, New Jersey. The research was participated by children ages from five to ten years who have been diagnosed with childhood schizophrenia. Symptoms of schizophrenia include autistic,symbiotic, aggressive or hyperactive behavior. Moreover, this illness can be differentiated from the conditions of an organic brain damage or mental disabilities regardless of the findings which found that children are potential for such illness. This program was designed to promote healthy child development through strengthening teacher-child relationship.

This paper reviews the research related to two central working hypotheses in the clinical treatment of children with behavior disorders. The first hypothesis, that emotional disturbance in childhood leads to mental illness in adult life, is examined by means of retrospective studies of adult mental patients and by adult followup of child guidance clinic patients. The second hypothesis, that the process of emotional disturbance may be interrupted by clinical treatment, is examined by means of studies comparing the adjustment of children who have received psychotherapy to the adjustment of similar children who have not received psychotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on the increasing emphasis on special class placement of educable mentally retarded children and special preparation for teachers. This is in view of the increasing evidence that special classes have been something of a disappointment in terms of accelerating the academic progress of these children, it is proposed that a necessary area of study is a careful analysis of the extent to which special classes actually differ from regular classes in regard to teacher techniques, materials, and content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper endeavors to assist the pediatric practitioner in determining when to refer a patient to a clinical child psychologist, and to give him some idea of what can be expected from a psychologic evaluation. The more specific the referral questions, the more meaningful the answers the pediatrician receives. Included are some pointers on preparing a child for a psychologic examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An emotionally disturbed twelve and a half year old girl was rehabilitated both behaviorally and academically through the use of reinforcement principles. An individual prescriptive treatment program resolved the problem so that the result is a bright little girl-friendly and responsive, working at grade level. Discussion includes the child's case history, methodology employed by the staff, and practical application of the reinforcement principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This discussion of delinquent types was designed to show certain consistencies in the present store of knowledge on the subject. By presenting a scheme for summarizing the present information and by suggesting areas where further understanding is needed, the hope is that new research will be stimulated in what seems to be a fruitful approach to juvenile delinquency. With the confidence that certain types do exist in reality it seems most useful at present to move on in search of answers to some of the more crucial questions suggested in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A practical method of evaluating teaching skills through precision teaching techniques is presented. Specific topics include: (a) measuring teacher contacts with various pupils; (b) measuring the effects of teacher behavior on pupil performance: and (c) establishing proficiency levels in writing and arithmetic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article suggests some activities and programs for mentally retarded children in the U.S. The papier-mache topographic map helps the mentally retarded child develop ideas of distance and direction and it shows the importance of places in relationship to the child's community and personal interests. The basic objectives of the high school home economics program for the mentally retarded girl, are to develop good citizenship, to improve the girl's homemaking ability and to develop traits and skills necessary for earning a living.

The article presents a study which discusses the division of childhood psychoses. They can be grouped into: (1) children with early onset and a slow chronic course; (2) children age three to five years with an acute course followed by regression; and (3) children aged over 5 years with a late onset and a fluctuating subacute course. Details of the researchers' ascertainment criteria in the study, the infantile psychosis and late onset psychoses are also discussed. Meanwhile, the study reported in the paper evaluates the value of distinction by age onset and creates the frequency of occurrence of the different signs in the different clinical groups.

The article examines a basic tenet in clinical work with parents and children, that children's psychological difficulties grow out of and reflect the parent's psychological difficulties. Children have to use their parents as models for adjusting to the multitudinous demands of living; if the parents are disturbed in some of their living relationships, this increases the burden the child carries and increases the likelihood that he will be involved in problem behavior in the same areas and in the same ways as his parents.

This report includes seven projects; each is concerned with one or more components of self-management. (1) A pupil was instructed to self-schedule, -correct and -chart. He was also allowed to specify his own contingencies. Throughout the study data were obtained regarding his performance in several academic subjects. (2) Data were obtained in math and reading. During some periods the teacher selected which subject should be initially scheduled; at other times the pupil selected the order. Data from the two conditions were compared. (3) Data were gathered with self-scheduling as a contingency: a pupil worked in a phonics program during conditions when (a) the teacher scheduled the subjects and (b) the pupil could earn the privilege of scheduling. (4) and (5) involved self-recording of troublesome behaviors. During the first condition of these projects the teacher recorded the behaviors, while during the second condition the pupils recorded their own behaviors. Data between conditions were compared. (6) The self-specification of contingencies was assessed. During certain conditions the teacher specified the contingencies; whereas this responsibility was assumed by the pupil at other times. The data from the two conditions were compared. (7) A group of students were taught to self-correct, -count, -time, -chart, and -evaluate. Throughout the project data were kept regarding their performances in reading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study, which explores the predictive validity of factors resulting from the analysis of mothers' reports of child-training practices with respect to behavior problems. The child rearing practice (CRP) factors were formed by weighted summation of the variables in the CR2 questionnaire employed and the behavior problem factors by weighted summation of the teacher rating variables employed separately as criteria. The child-rearing factor termed "low use of discipline" was positively related to the behavior problem factors of "hypertension," "paranoid tendencies," and "antisocial behavior."

The article presents information on a study that focuses on a proposal for "testing the limits" with mental defectives for purposes of subtest analysis of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children verbal scale. Experience with testing several hundred children indicates that some test items are frequently misunderstood or artifactually responded to by mental defectives. Some test questions on sub-texts of information, comprehension, and arithmetic, seem confusing and incomprehensible to mental defectives. For purposes of sub-test analysis, a re-phrasing of the test item question seems justified and fruitful, even though the response to the re-phrased question is not scored for purposes of intelligence quotient computation.

The major objective of this study was to investigate spontaneous improvement in public school children who had been identified as behavior problems, but who had not had the help of any special educational or psychiatric care. The study examined the basic assumption underlying early detection programs that the majority of childhood problems would continue or become worse if left untreated. Alter a 4 year interval, behavior disordered children, who had completed the first screening and had not received any type of intervention, were reexamined with the same screening device (an abbreviated form of the Bower, 1960, instrument). Persistent disturbances were found in 30 percent of the children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on topics and issues related to school phobia. Psychologists have long claimed that phobias in general, are the neuroses of childhood. But others are skeptical, and contend that school phobia is not a childhood neurosis but rather a learned maladaptive behavior. Children suffering from school phobia dreads some aspect of the school situation, such as the teacher, other children, the journey, other aspects of school life, as well as dreading physical separation from home and mother.

Twelve to 15 children with problem behaviors were enrolled in a demonstration head start class. The goals of the demonstration project were: (a) to provide remedial services for these children through the application of behavior modification procedures; (b) to provide head start teachers and related personnel with in-service traipsing in behavior modification techniques; and (c) to conduct applied research based on the behavioral analyses of teacher-child interactions. Two case studies are presented. The first concerns an aggressively disruptive child, and the second, a child whose total behavioral repertoire consisted of bizarre and maladaptive behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the result of a study regarding the training of teachers for the emotionally disturbed children in the U.S. It was found out that most teachers of mentally ill children have little involvement in the theoretical approach. There were some encountered problems on presenting the techniques of the teachers in dealing with the children. The process of the survey includes an interview on the evaluations of their own training and experiences and a discussion on the content of the training program. The result of the study was presented

Six public school classrooms of children with learning and behavior problems were studied to assess the effectiveness of an engineered classroom design. The experimental condition consisted of rigid adherence to the design while the control condition provided any type program the teacher chose except use of token and tangible rewards. Task attention and achievement gains in arithmetic fundamentals were found to be significantly correlated with the presence of the engineered design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has indicated that the primary intervention in special classes for the disturbed is sequential tutoring. In this method the teacher provides individual attention by rotating from student to student. A number of limitations to this approach are discussed and an alternative system of individualizing the instructional procedure is suggested. Several advantages of this modified sequential tutoring system are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four hundred forty-one children in public school classes for the emotionally disturbed were rated by their teachers on a checklist of problem behaviors. Factor analysis of the intercorrelations of the behaviors indicated that three factors could account for 76 percent of the variance. These were labeled conduct problem or unsocialized aggression, inadequacy-immaturity, and personality problem or neuroticism. Results were consonant with similar studies of other groups of problem children. The results also suggest the likelihood that differential programs for emotionally disturbed children will be necessary, depending upon their primary behavioral characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Specific superior skills have been found in behaviorally retarded persons (idiots savants). Kiyoshi Yamashita's graphic genius is given as an outstanding example. The suggestion is made that we design prosthetic environments not only to restore average behavioral function to handicapped individuals, but also to develop special skills to the point of superiority. Supporting examples and an interpretation of specific superiority are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study attempted to determine the amount of learning which would take place among cerebral palsied children and noncerebral palsied crippled children as compared under conditions of listening to a normal speaking rate (175 wpin) and a rapid rate (275 wpm). There were significant differences between the two samples on the comprehension test of the selection presented at 175 wpm but, contrary to expectation, the samples did not differ significantly on comprehension of the selection presented at 275 wpm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The equating of minimal neurological signs with minimal brain (neuropathological) damage is shown to be untenable in the present state of our knowledge. It is demonstrated that for the neurological examination to be of importance, it must encompass complex behavioral phenomena, as well as study of the classical motor and sensory functions. in the treatment of disturbed communication function, the accent must be away from correction, and directed toward continual development and growth through the available, relatively intact address systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the basic considerations in the education of emotionally disturbed children. The author points out that the education for the emotionally disturbed is similar to that of the mentally retarded. The practices initiated in handling such children includes: (1) holding actions; (2) a quasi-therapeutic program wherein the educative process has a therapeutic objective; and (3) a program that is focused more on education and academic achievement rather than therapy. The author presents tips and advisories on educating personality problem and problem children. Finally, educational planning should be done carefully when handling emotionally disturbed children.

The article provides information on how to evaluates the psychological problems of school children in the U.S. Several factors needs to be assessed to reach an exact diagnosis for children with psychological problem. Assessment includes evidence on the actual existence of the problem, learning ability of the child, socioeconomic background, cultural background, social role, physical health, developmental phase and how the child react to unrecognized situation in school and home environment. When everything has been assessed and their exist an unusual behavior of the child, that the time to make a diagnosis.

The article discusses the challenges in the education of emotionally disturbed children and presents propositions aimed at providing a framework for understanding behavior in general and the disturbed child in particular. There is difficulty in defining such a child because of the lack of knowledge on what constitutes the emotional life of a normal child and because behavior is a dynamic, interacting process and any static or checklist attempt at definition falls short of being either effective or accurate as a means of determining emotional disturbance or normality in a child. It suggests that behavior can best be evaluated along an integrative-non-integrative continuum and within the context of a situation. The most important elements that need to be considered in evaluating emotional disturbance in the classroom include the teacher, his or her goals, pressures, and problems; the peer group, their basic need for unity, group acceptance, and a fundamental desire to learn; and the disturbed child who shares to his or her peers common goals and aspirations.

The article discusses the results of a study on the learning difficulties of boys with severe behavior disorders in a special school established by the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland. All the boys shared a common pathology which is commonly called as acting out. This type of behavior is justified every time an impulse or fantasy, conscious or unconscious, is acted upon whether or not is an appropriate response. The boys lack the ability to postpone, regulate, or foresee consequences. Prior to the creation of the school program for the group, their past school experience were evaluated. Acting-out boys are placed in a special class for the emotionally disturbed. Teachers on the other hand are required to treat attention-deficit-disordered children with respect and patience.

This article presents a study on short-term camping for boys with behavior problems. According to the author there are three major resources for coping with the behavior problems of the hostile-aggressive boy at camp: (1) the warm and accepting-as-possible relationship with his counselor who is an adult interested in work with just such boys, (2) the short-term group experience itself, with the give-and-take that exists between each boy and the other campers while he learns to be part of his group and get along with the others, and finally, (3) the program, tailor-made and continuously reviewed to be not only attractive in its diversity of opportunities, but intrinsically therapeutic in its structure and content. These three resources will be discussed in detail in this article. Certain specially designed supports and structures enabled the staff of college age counselors to work successfully with these sixty boys. The ratio of campers to counselors was three to one. Typically, one male and one female counselor were assigned to a group of five to seven campers. The primary relationship stressed was that of the boy to his male counselor, with the hope that a positive identification with a mature adult of the same sex would be enhanced.

In this study an objective method of analysis of the process of written communication between a group of emotionally disturbed adolescents, and their friends and relatives was presented. All the mail written to and by the children at Linden Hill for a period of nine days was collected resulting in a group of 10 children at Linden Hill writing a total of 24 letters, a group of 6 children in the community writing a total of 7 letters, and a group of 15 adults in the community writing a total. of 28 letters. It was demonstrated that: (a) the method of analysis is reliable (coefficients of agreement varying from 7.5 to 95 per cent); (b) that the emotionally disturbed children resembled both the children and the adults in the community with whom they corresponded; (c) that it is possible to arive at an index of similarity between the children and their parents by correlating proportions of verbal material relegated to each category. The results of this investigation were analyzed separately by category and related to the appropriate findings in the literature. Some indications were also given as to possible direction of further work in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotional illnesses in children often appear with symptoms which at first may seem to be more indicative of some organic disease. Certain suggestive symptoms and signs may help the doctor assess a child's state of emotional health. An often neglected but important source of information is the child him- self. If he seems to be healthier than his history, a further look into the family and social background becomes the pediatrician's concern. Uncovering a source of tension may safeguard the child's continued emotional wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the effectiveness of an evaluational approach to problems of retardation and behavior in childhood. Psychosocial disabilities in children; Standard history and physical examination and a standard psychologic evaluation utilizing diagnostic tests; Primary diagnosis of a learning, developmental or behavior disorder; Indications of child growth and development.

This article focuses on the application of psychological theory in management of behavior problems in children. Successful management by the physician of behavior problems of young children resides largely in discussions with the parents. These problems include those related to feeding difficulties, thumb-sucking, enuresis, tics, unhappiness, school and antisocial behavior. Several pediatricians have acquired a growing sensitivity to understanding and managing psychological difficulties. By using this knowledge and sensitivity, the pediatricians can explain the dynamics of child behavior to parents and advise alterations in parental response and actions to lessen behavior problems.

Discusses the use of pharmacotherapy as an adjunct to counseling or psychotherapy in children with emotional disorders. Indications and limitations of psychotropic drug therapy; Classification of psychotropic drugs; Advice to pediatricians about psychopharmacology.

Dr. Moskowitz, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, is in full time psychiatric practice Here he relates his ideas about and experiences with the ever- ticklish problem of referring a child for psychiatric care. The pediatrician must educate parents to the function of a psychiatrist; he must recognize and correct unrealistic expectations; he must himself acquire knowledge of psychiatric procedures. The pediatrician holds the trust of the family. He is vital to the success of any psychiatric referral. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognized willful trauma to young children, also known as “unsuspected trauma” or the “battered child syndrome,” is increasing in incidence as a problem in pediatric practice. The social and legal implications involved in making such a diagnosis are of extreme importance to the practicing physician whose role in relation to management of the over-all problem may be difficult to define. Since repeated trauma occurs more frequently than an isolated episode, the physician must make every attempt to remove the child from his troubled environment into a safer atmosphere, at least on a temporary basis. It is also the physician's responsibility to insist on a complete investigation of the home situation by the proper social agency or legal body, if necessary. Some of the problems which arise in management are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sixty experimental Ss were individually habituated to an array of eight small toys. Following this, each child was shown four additional arrays and asked to choose one for further play. The five arrays represented a series graduated with respect to degree of novelty as follows 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 per cent. Anxiety scores for each child were obtained by means of independent ratings by three teachers on a scale devised for this purpose. It was found that for the total group the preference value of a toy array increased as a direct function of its degree of novelty Older children, boys, and low-anxious children preferred greater novelty significantly more frequently then did younger children, girls, and high-anxious children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personality theories are replete with bipolar concepts: love-hate, introversion-extraversion, masculinity-femininity, manic-depressive, pleasure-pain, and so forth. Research workers have sought to identify behavior items which can be considered indicative of one or the other pole of such bipolar traits. The diagnostic significance of behavior items is often investigated by comparing observations made on contrasting reference groups. An example of this procedure is seen in establishment of masculinity-femininity scale by comparing the answers of men and women to a series of questionnaire items. It will often occur, however, that no clear reference groups are available to tie down the ends of the continuum. Also the significance of a particular behavior item may be arguable, some theorists urging that it belongs to one end of the continuum, and others main taming precisely the opposite.

The article presents several research on the role of classroom interactions and teachers influence in combating mental illness of children in the U.S. The report of the Joint Commission on Mental Illness and Health contained recommendations in combating mental illness which include balanced portfolio of mental health services and research, suggestion for increasing government spending for all levels of mental health services, encourage towards health and helping professions. Ralph Rabinovitch, director of Hawthorne Center, indicated that schools must offer psychological guide through organize and challenging programs of academic studies and routines for emotionally handicapped children.

Ten psychotic and 10 normal children, paired for age and sex, were compared for respiratory sinus arrhythmia differences under conditions of spontaneous and 5, 10, and 15 sec interval breathing. Cardiac rate and respiratory changes were simultaneously recorded. Parameters of degree of change and timing for each respiratorycardiac cycle and its associated changes in heart rate were measured and compared statistically. Results show significant differences between psychotics and normal controis as follows: 1. The psychotics did not sustain the acceleratory phase of the cardiac cycle as did the controls. 2. The lag intervals (interval between onset of inspiration and onset of cardiac acceleration, interval between onset of expiration and onset of cardiac deceleration) were more consistent for the normal controls than for the psychotics. 3. At maximum respiratory depths the psychotics no longer demonstrated a direct relationship between depth of respiration and degree of cardiac rate change as did the controls. We conclude that there is a different or less well-coordinated combination of operative forces in the sinus arrhythmia mechanism of the psychotics as compared to the controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information about a comparison of parental and self-evaluations of psychopathology in children. The mother of a child guidance clinic patient is usually considered to be a primary source of information about the child, even though it is thought that they frequently have a distorted perception of their child. Nevertheless, the mother's statement must often be accepted as valid in the absence of contradictory information. It is a sort of "best estimate" of the child when no other estimate is available. Despite the prevalence of the belief in the fallibility of the mother's perception, there have been few experimental efforts to check it.

The article presents information on a study that focuses on the differentiation of normal and neurotic children by means of objective tests. It was concluded that the discrimination achieved appears very promising, particularly in view of the doubtful status of some of the "normal" children. Even at its present level, objective tests of neuroticism might of considerable practical use as screening tests, i.e., in isolating the child most in need of psychiatric attention. Taking all these facts it would appear that the identification of the factor with "neuroticism" finds considerable justification in the results reported in this study.

The article focuses on the research findings in the study of emotionally disturbed children. The author discusses the problems and concerns in the use of undifferentiated grouping. The psychological research on emotionally disturbed children has led to the development and use of neuropsychological battery, the improvement of classification systems, and the Rorschach inkblot testing. Several fields of study have contributed to the study and inquiry of mental health such as sociology, philosophy, theology, semantics, and among others.

The article focuses on the results of the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI) test conducted on boys with severe behavior problems. The Coopersmith SEI is a self report measure that has been used frequently with early elementary school children and children with reading problems. It was concluded that the Coopersmith SEI scores for the given sample of boys showed satisfactory test-retest reliability but questionable validity. It was suggested that future users of Coopersmith SEI should plan for appropriate checks on its validity.

The article considers the general characteristics which most emotionally disturbed children manifest in a given learning situation. In this study, researchers attempt to describe a creative arts activity conducted with a public school special class of emotionally disturbed children. Indications showed that although the children are usually reality-oriented, they display behavior which has been termed neurotic or sociopathic in type. Researchers suggest that the normal language hesitancies which have been associated with cultural deprivation also appear in the functioning of several of these children.

The article presents a study of the relationships between five descriptive categories of emotional disturbance and reading and arithmetic achievement. The groups of children included in the study were classified into psychosomatic problems, aggressive behavior, school difficulties, school phobia, and neurotic-psychotic personalities. This study was undertaken in an attempt by the researchers to find whether there are differences in school skills among such groups. The results from this study confirm the fact that children who are emotionally disturbed are not one group who share the same condition which yields to one program of treatment.

The article reports that the Board of Governors of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) will vote on the acceptance of the Council for Children With Behavioral Disorders as a CEC division at the Council's International Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The objectives of the proposed division are to promote the education and general welfare of children with behavioral disorders and to encourage and promote professional growth and research as a means of better understanding the problems related to children with behavioral disorders.