The 1985-86 data from 308 children and young adults under age 25 with autism and from 326 with severe or profound mental retardation can be compared to national data from the 1980 MNCUES and the 1987 NMES because the methods are similar. These data provide detailed answers to the questions, what health care services are used? what are the expenses? Who pays them? Until now, the absence of compr...

BACKGROUND Early and regular developmental screening can improve children's development through early intervention but is insufficiently used. Most developmental problems are readily evident at the 18-month well-baby visit. This trial's purpose is to: (1) compare identification rates of developmental problems by GPs/family physicians using four evidence-based tools with non-evidence based scree...

OBJECTIVE We assessed associations between parenting a child with autism and stress indicators. METHODS In the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health, parents or other knowledgeable adult respondents for children aged 4 to 17 years reported their recent feelings about their life sacrifices to care for their child, difficulty caring for their child, frustration with their child's actions, a...

Background: Intraventricular hemorrhages and respiratory distress syndrome are two common diseases in preterm infants. Observation-based care, may reduce the rate of these complications through energy saving, diminishing apnea periods and cerebral blood flow changes. Aim: to evaluate the effect of behavior observation-based care training for mothers on intraventricular hemorrhages and ventilati...

NIDCAP and Developmental Care: A European Perspective The systematic review by Ohlsson and Jacobs on the NIDCAP approach concluded that there is no evidence that NIDCAP improves long-term neurodevelopmental or short-term medical outcome.1 Despite their conclusion, “Because NIDCAP was not effective in reducing adverse outcomes, performing cost-effectiveness analyses became redundant,” they repor...

When developmental concerns arise in children, a clinical assessment focuses on the child's developmental profile to achieve three goals (1) determine diagnosis, (2) develop interventions, and (3) evaluate progress. Parents often have needs during this time that are not addressed by professionals because of the exclusive focus on the child during the evaluation. In this article, we suggest that...

This paper outlines the prevalence of developmental delay in children and discusses the recent literature regarding the benefits of early identification and evidence based strategies for developmental surveillance and screening. We describe a systematic approach to the child with developmental delay and the optimal methodology for arriving at the etiologic basis for the delay. A review of the m...

In this project we examined access to health care by individuals with developmental disabilities in Kansas from low-income populations and from minority backgrounds. Four criteria for determining access were employed: availability, accessibility, affordability, and appropriateness of care. Factors that pose barriers and that facilitate access are described and recommendations are set out, with ...