Educational intervention strategies for children with visual impairments with emphasis on retinopathy of prematurity.

Young children with retinopathy of prematurity have many intervention needs. This article discusses the possible causes of retinopathy of prematurity and possible educational problems experienced by these children. In addition, possible intervention strategies are suggested in the areas of language development, social interaction, self-help skills, orientation and mobility, and educational technology as they relate to the needs of young children with retinopathy of prematurity.

Production of Co-60 sources for high-accuracy efficiency calibrations of gamma-ray spectrometers.

Activity determination by gamma-ray spectrometry is a valuable aid which is widely used where radioactive sources are applied. For the construction of an efficiency curve vs. energy in a standard geometry, the accuracy is limited not only by the uncertainty of peak area determination and the knowledge of the relevant emission probabilities but also by the uncertainties of the activity values applied to efficiency calibration with standard sources. Recently, a method to determine a relative efficiency function using selected radionuclides with gamma cascades of well known emission probabilities has been developed which yields very accurate efficiency values. Such a curve has to be converted into an absolute efficiency curve by calibration of the detector system with at least one source of very well known activity. Especially for this purpose, a set of Co-60 gamma-ray spectrometer sources was produced at the PTB. The activity values (10-45 kBq) were measured by the 4pi beta-gamma coincidence technique with a standard uncertainty of less than 0.1%. Production and measurement of these sources are described in the present paper. Special care was taken to include all contributions to the standard uncertainty of the activity value when establishing the uncertainty budget for the activity of each of these sources. The activity ratio of two of these sources, as obtained by the absolute measurements, was checked by independent gamma-ray counting at two other laboratories, where the precision achieved was less than 0.2%. The procedure described is considered to be a step towards more accurately determined efficiency functions in gamma-ray spectrometry.

Retinopathy of prematurity.

Retinopathy of prematurity is a condition that can be ameliorated for premature infants. Such intervention strategies include careful administration of oxygen in incubators through monitoring of blood gases, early detection of ROP utilizing the international evaluation of ROP diagnosis, and timely drug and surgical interventions for premature infants. These strategies apply to all premature infants but especially to those whose birth weight was less than 1,500 grams and who received oxygen for a prolonged period of time.

Nutrition: an issue of concern for children with disabilities.

Children with special health care needs should be identified as early as possible. Nutritionists, educators, therapists, parents, primary care clinicians, should serve as interdisciplinary advocates for these children by planning through conversations, meetings, and individualized educational plan objectives to secure any needed services. Intervention services also can involve specialized techniques such as food preparation, stimulation of the eating process, and monitoring of specialized feedings (e.g., gastrostomy tubes). Intervention with children exhibiting special health needs should be interdisciplinary in nature, family centered, community based, and cognizant of cultural differences. Some of the intervention strategies for this population include screening and assessment, genetic counseling, support groups for families, financial counseling, transportation, legal services, day care, respite care, and assistance with special equipment [1].

Parents' opinions concerning possible causes of cerebral palsy.

This study surveys parents of children with cerebral palsy. The purpose of the study is to report the parents' opinions concerning possible causes of cerebral palsy. All parents of children with cerebral palsy who attended the United Cerebral Palsy centers in North Carolina were asked to respond to a survey concerning their opinions of possible causative factors related to cerebral palsy. Parents of children with cerebral palsy participating in this study reported agreement with several possible causative factors of cerebral palsy. Though the opinions of these parents largely reflect knowledge that is consistent with the literature, there is also confusion concerning some factors that have been associated with cerebral palsy. There is a need for more study of causative factors related to cerebral palsy.

A movement-based approach to language development in children who are deaf-blind.

A movement-based approach to the development of language in children with deaf-blindness includes utilization of the four coactive movement phases: resonance, coactive movement, nonrepresentation reference, and deferred imitation. Such an approach stresses the use of structure in the environment as well as the use of a hierarchy of media cues. These cues range from concrete to symbolic in their characteristics and assist children in learning more complex concepts. A movement based approach uses the salient features of individuals or objects to develop an understanding of the person or object. Such features initially are used to stimulate use of language concerning objects or individuals in the immediate environment, and later to refer to persons or concepts in a more abstract fashion.

Abuse-provoking characteristics of institutionalized mentally retarded individuals.

Abuse-provoking characteristics of institutionalized mentally retarded individuals were examined. A group of 80 abused retarded clients in a residential setting were compared to a group of 80 nonabused clients. The two groups were compared on IQs, social quotients, presence of physical disabilities, aggressive behavior, ability to communicate verbally, presence of self-injurious behavior, ability to ambulate, sex, and age. Six of these characteristics (social quotient, aggression, verbal ability, age, self-injurious behavior, and ambulation) were significant in differentiating the abused from nonabused retarded individuals. A discriminant function was developed to help identify those clients who may be at risk of being abused.