and achievement of a 142 five-year-old psychosocially disadvantaged Appalachian children. During each year approximately 15 children were placed into either an experimental preschool, a kindergarten contrast, or an at-home contrast group. Curriculum procedures and concomitant teaching practices were designed to remedy specifically diagnosed deficits of the experimental preschool group in the areas of intelligence and language, social, and motor development. At the end of each treatment year the experimental groups ranked significantly higher than the control groups in all areas. Followup study through the second grade for the first-year group and followup through the first grade for the second-year group indicated that the g roups no longer differed significantly. However, the social development of the experimental groups continued to be significantly better. Title: Home Teaching for Parents of Young Deaf Children. Grantee: John Tracy Clinic. Funds obligated: $95,719. Description: Young deaf children need meaningful visual language input for as many of their waking hours as possible if they are to even partially compensate for the auditory language experience of the normal-hearing child. This demonstration project explored a plan for educating parents of young deaf children to provide such language training. The unique feature of the plan was providing the instruction in a homelike environment rather than a typical clinic or school setting. It was hoped this would increase the likelihood of transfer and application in the child's home. The report contains a description of the techniques found most useful and relates them to the total educational program of John Tracy Clinic. Evaluation was hampered by the lack of suitable measuring instruments, although the attempts were encouraging. The evaluation of language development suffered from unreliability of the measuring device. A questionnaire concerning information gained by parents showed a slight benefit from the demonstration home program. Expansion of the clinic's program to two additional branches, and the initiation of several similar programs throughout the country are interpreted as indications of the general success of this approach. Title: A Field Demonstration of the Effect of Nonautomated Responsive Environments on the Intellectual and Social Competence of Educable Mentally Retarded Children. Principal investigator: Burton Blatt. Grantee: Boston University. Beginning date: September 1961. Funds obligated: $148,960. Description: A preschool program with children of low-socioeconomic status was conducted to enhance their educability. The sample (N=74) was divided by random assignment into one control and two experimental groups. Provisions were made for an optimal nursery school environment by: (1) helping children to function socially in a group, (2) participating in experiences designed to arouse curiosity, and (3) training for acquisition of academic skills. During the 3-year program, a number of measuring instruments were employed: (1) cognitive (aptitude, achievement, language), (2) noncognitive (personality, social), and (3) environmental (home, family). The groups were no different at the conclusion of the study than they were at the beginning. Also, no evidence was obtained to support the theory that intelligence scores can be improved. It was suggested that additional effort should be given to the nature-nurture interaction. The time to begin interventions, and possible intervention models. Title: An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Educational Audiology Upon the Language Development of Hearing Handicapped Children. Principal investigator: Joseph L. Stewart. Grantee: University of Denver. Beginning date: January 1961. Funds obligated: $62,441. Description: Not available. Title: The Identification of Kindergarten Children Least Likely to Show Spontaneous Improvement in Speech Sound Articulation. Principal investigator: Mildred C. Templin. Grantee: University of Minnesota. Beginning date: January 1960. Description: Not available. Title: Research in Remedial Guidance of Young Retarded Children with Behavior Problems Which Interfere with Academic Learning and Adjustment. Principal investigator: Sidney W. Bijou. Grantee: University of Illinois Board of Trustees. Beginning date: October 1965. Funds obligated: $84,662. Description: A 4-year research project developed a preschool program for exceptional children unable to attend public school but not needing to be institutionalized on the basis of empirical behavioral principles. Children were referred from agencies and most had already unsuccessfully used special school services. The average age was 5.5 years, average IQ was 83, and average mental age 4.3 years. Scores on the wide range achievement test averaged early kindergarten level. Utilizing special features in the physical plant, curriculum, and operation of the school, behavioral principles were applied to weaken behaviors interfering with academic learning and to strengthen desirable social and intellectual behaviors. Reading, writing, and arithmetic programs were developed as well as procedures for maintaining motivation for learning. Specific techniques were applied to modify the behavior of aggressive, shy, and speech deficient children. Investigators worked with parents at home, and the parents supplemented the nursery program. Objectives and procedures of a teacher training program are specified. A bibliography with 23 entries, a list of 10 publications resulting from this research, samples of program studies from the first 2 years, case studies, and 8 figures are included. Title: A Non-Verbal Hearing Test for Children with Deafness. Grantee Gallaudet College. Funds obligated: $35,999. Description: A series of eight consecutive and related experiments were completed. These were part of the development and quantification of vibrotactile conditioning procedures that led to the measurement of hearing in deaf and bearing subjects ranging in age from adults to as young as 21⁄2 years. A modification of the radioear B-70A bone conduction transducer was coupled with the Grason-Stadler E-800 audiometer to provide a programed stimulus used to instruct, nonverbal, deaf and hearing subjects to perform standard Bekesy audiometry. Cross-modality stimulus generalization from a vibrotactile to an auditory stimulus was found to take place routinely in all age groups above 5 years. The procedure used a modification to the E-800 audiometer that allowed a single press of the response switch by the subject to measure one's ascending threshold. A total of 213 subjects was used in this project analysis of results included parametric and nonparametric statistics using the analysis of variance approach. Title: The Investigation of Communicative Behavior in Deaf Children of Preschool Age. Principal investigator: David Kendall. Grantee: Lexington School for the Deaf. Beginning date: June 1964. Funds obligated: $13,484. Description: No final report. Title: Identification of Orientation and Mobility Skills Relating to Developmental Tasks for Young Blind Children. Principal investigator: Clarence E. Manshardt, Georgia Sachs Adams, Marilyn Bailey, and Francis E. Lord. Grantee: California State College at Los Angeles. Beginning date: June 1965. Funds obligated: $32,414. Description: Measurement scales were developed for use in describing and evaluating skills which blind children develop for exploring and comprehending their environment, and attaining reasonable self-dependence. Study feasibility excluded some of the basic living skills, leaving only those related to the blind child's orientation and mobility. The items used in drafting the scales came from several sources, including research studies, teachers of the blind, special consultants, and existing tests and scales. A list of 288 pertinent items was collected. Each of the items, organized into 58 subscales, was judged on the bases of: (1) significance, (2) feasibility of observation, and (3) rank in developmental sequence. Subscales were also evaluated as whole entities. Of all subscales assessed, 42 were deemed suitable for field trial. Twelve totally blind children, representative ages from 2 to 12 years, were tested during the field trial. Thirtyfive promising subscales were identified, pertinent to such skills as: (1) auditory perception and discrimination, (2) walking, running, and jumping, (3) touch recognition, (4) travel movement and movement realization, (5) right and left recognition, (6) direction taking, (7) balance, and (8) familiarization. Title: Concept Formation in Children with Down's Syndrome-Mongolism. Grantee: Fordham University. Beginning date: June 1965. Funds obligated: $7,126. Description: A special training program in size discrimination was studied as a means for teaching regular trisomic mongoloids. Based upon the success of this program, a further assessment was made as to acquired size discrimination ability of such persons when transferred to other learning task with pictorial materials and three-dimensional objects. The subjects were 60 noninstitutionalized mongoloid children (confirmed by chromosomal analysis) with a mean age of 6 years and average IQ of 38. A size concept test and size discrimination training tasks were developed and used with these children. Pictures, geometric forms, and three-dimensional objects were used for the test where subjects selected the biggest stimulus out of three choices for each test item in response to verbal direction. One candy was the reward for each correct (biggest) response. The training program consisted entirely of pictorial materials arranged on cards where the subjects again selected the biggest objects and were rewarded for correct responses, accordingly. All testing and training were conducted individually by investigator in face-to-face situations. Experimental subjects who received training were compared to a comparable control group. Both groups were given pre- and post-tests as described above (the latter received no training). Significantly higher gains were made by the experimental group, and this success did not appear to be related to maturation or intellectual level. Title: Development of Two Standardized Measures of Hearing for Speech by Children. Principal investigator: Bruce Siegenthaler and George Haspiel. Beginning date: July 1964. Funds obligated: $32,758. Description: Using previously developed forms of the discrimination by identification of pictures (DIP) test and the threshold by identification of pictures (TIP) test, the investigators sought to improve the material and procedure and to standardize the tests on normal hearing children. Both tests required children to identify pictures upon hearing names of pictures. The TIP test (two forms) and the DIP test (three forms) were administered to 295 children aged 3 to 8 years. Retests for reliability were made one week later. Conclusions for the TIP test were: (1) it produces no differences between forms A and B in variability of threshold, in thresholds between sexes, or threshold variability between sexes or among age groups tested, (2) Form B produces more intense threshold measures than Form A, for ages tested and both sexes, (1) an age effect exists for both males and females and for Forms A and B, (4) test threshold reliability between test and retest is about three decibels, (5) intelligibility curve is essentially equivalent for Forms A and B, for both sexes, and for all age groups tested. Con clusions for the DIP test were: (1) there are no score differences for any form at any of the presentation levels used, nor in variability of scores among test forms for age or sex groups, nor in level of test score as a function of sex. (2) scores increased with age of subjects, (3) standard deviation of distribution of absolute difference between test and retest scores on all forms is approximately five items, and (4) test score plotted against presentation level of all forms, both sexes, and all age levels tested is 1.8 items change in score per DB change in presentation level for range SRT to DB through SRT plus 10 DB. Appendix contains descriptions of both tests and information on administration, scoring, and interpretation of scores. Reference list cites 59 items. Title: The Use of Games to Facilitate the Learning of Basic Number Concepts in Preschool Educable Mentally Retarded Children. Principal investigator: Dorothea Ross. Grantee: Stanford University. Beginning date: June 1966. Funds obligated: $26,823. Description: Group games were used to teach basic number concepts to educable mentally retarded children. The number concepts were integral but incidental to the intentional teaching of game skills. Subjects were 21 boys and 19 girls from eight classes, free of gross defects (means were IQ 66.22, age 7.9, mental age 5.11), and matched in pairs for chronological age, mental age, IQ, and scores on pre-experimental tests of number concepts, game skills, preference for social play, and voluntary social participation in school. The experimental group of 20 participated 100 minutes a week in a 9-month game program. The control group, also 20, attended a traditional math program, and both were tested at the middle and end of this period. The experimental group scored higher on both mid-experimental (P.003) and post-experimental (P.0003) measures on the number knowledge test (test reliability 98 on Form A and 93= on Form B), higher on the post-experimental measure (P.002) on the spontaneous use of quantitative terms, and made fewer errors on both the mid-experimental (P.005) and post-experimental (P.0005) tests on general game skills (test reliability 91=). Game and modeling procedures and attention directing variables (use of exciemet rewards) are suggested as teaching techniques for retarded children, and a handbook for teaching game skills is included. Title: Preliminary Standardization of a Scale of Orientation and Mobility Skills of Young Blind Children. Principal investigator: Francis E. Lord. Grantee: California State College at Los Angeles. Beginning date: October 1966. Funds obligated: $26,979. Description: In order to identify orientation and mobility skills essential for young blind children, a master list of skills was compiled from developmental studies and teachers' observations and formed into a scale comprised of 47 subscales, each of which had three or more items arranged in developmental order. Scaling was done by jury judgment and by full trial with the children and refined to 26 subscales which related to self-help in travel, formal orientation and mobility pre-cane skills, movement space, use of sensory cues in travel, and directions and turns. A test-retest procedure with 41 subjects was used to test the reliability. Norming data was collected on 173 subjects, ages 3 to 12, who were representative of elementary age blind children. All were blind or had light perception only, and had normal intelligence and no physical disabilities which would interfere with orientation and mobility. Twenty-four test items which possessed an acceptable range of difficulty (20 to 80 percent) and a high reliability (.91 for the entire form) were used to construct a short form. The remaining promising items were used to construct instructional tasks in orientation and mobility for young blind children (34 items) and pre-cane orientation and mobility skills (25 items). Forty-four references, 11 tables, and the instruments are given. Title: Training in Visual Perception for Young Deaf Children to Stimulate School Readiness. Principal investigator: Rachael Rawls. Grantee: Governor Morehead School. Beginning date: September 1966. Funds obligated: $4,695. Description: Twenty-two children enrolled in the beginning classes for the deaf at the Governor Morehead School participated in a visual training program. One group of 11 children received 20 individual training sessions during 10 weeks. At the completion of this training, the second group of 11 children received the same training program. The two groups showed no significant differences between means of age or performance on the Nebraska test of learning aptitude. Title: The Relationship Between Intentional Learning, Incidental Learning and Type of Reward in Preschool Educable Mentally Retardates. Principal investigator: Dorothea Ross. Grantee: Stanford University. Beginning date: February 1966. Funds obligated: $13,514. Description: The purpose of this research was to study the effects of different rewards for intentional learning on incidental learning acquired by preschool educable mental retardates in a game situation. An adult experimenter taught each retardate to play motor, social and problem-solving games (intentional learning). A second adult served as a player and exhibited mannerisms (incidental learning) while playing. To emphasize the rules, this player made errors and was corrected by the experimenter. The players either were given tangible, symbolic, or social rewards, or were not rewarded. They received only one type of reward in any one game. It hypothesized that the highest intentional and lowest incidental scores would result from tangible rewards. The best intentional-incidental score combination would result from social and symbolic rewards. The highest incidental scores would occur in the no-reward condition. The following results were obtained. In experiment one intentional learning did not vary as a function of type of reward. Success in the game appeared to be a more powerful reinforcer than the rewards offered by the experimenter. (The retardate typically experiences social play deprivation and failure in game situations.) In experiment two all retardates were accustomed to success in game situations.) In experiment two all retardates were accustomed to success in game situations. The highest intentional scores occurred in the no-reward condition. The incidental scores in the tangible and social reward conditions did not differ. Both tangible and social rewards were associated with a satisfactory intentional-incidental score combination. Title: Improving the Social Behavior of Young Educable Retardates. Grantee: The Palo Alto Medical Research Foundation. Beginning date: June 1966. Funds obligated: $8,789. Description: To increase the young educable mental retardates knowledge of appropriate social responses, a training program was designed utilizing the practical syllogism. Subject groups ages 3.9 to 10.3, included (1) 32 educable mental retardates with a mean IQ of 66, divided into control and experimental groups of 16 each, (2) 16 average children with IQ's of 90 to 110 or in the 50th to 60th percentile on group readiness and ability tests, and (3) 16 above average children with IQ's of 125 to 145 or above the 60th percentile on the same group tests. Both the retarded groups were given 120 training incidents using doll play, live models, puppets, and film slides. Training for the experimental (E) group was in responses to six common types of social situations such as asking for assistance or responding to disapproval. Training for the control (C) group was in verbal and problem-solving skills. The average group received no training. Pretests and posttests measured logic and social behavior results indicated that (1) after training the E-group was significantly higher than the C-group on logical thinking (P less than .05) and social behavior (P less than .0005), (2) although the group scored lower than the E-group after training, it scored significantly higher after training than before on logical thinking (P less than .05), and social behavior (P less than .01), (3) before training the retarded groups scored significantly lower than the average group of logic (P .001) and social behavior (P .0005), and (4) after training, the E-group scored significantly lower than the average group on logic (P less than .005) but higher on social |