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Twenty-three years of observation and testing of the communication skills of a male participant with agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC) and normal IQ revealed initial weakness in content and form of language. While his general ability to communicate improved over time, difficulties with fluent speech in conversations and pragmatic language skills persisted into young adulthood. With intensive intervention, communication and academic skills developed by late adolescence, which allowed the participant to complete a regular high school program. Discussion includes similarities and differences between this longitudinal case study and other reports of individuals with ACC with respect to communication skills. A clinical intervention approach based on collaboration between client, school, and the client's family is described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assesses the parenting attitudes of adolescent and older mothers to explore group differences. Connection between parenting attitudes and parenting behavior; Risk for infant abuse; Predomination of similarities among teenage and older mothers.

SUMMARY The purpose of the present investigation was to assess the relationship of children's social behavior in two 'naturalistic settings and teachers' ratings of those behaviors. Ss were 36 children who attended preschool five half-days a week. Two teachers rated each child once on a scale that contained eight items corresponding to different aspects of the children's social behavior Then the children were observed in two settings, a free-play period in the regular classroom, and a free-play session in groups of four in a small group room. With the use if a modification of the Parten Scale, 20 minutes of data were collected on each child in the small group room and a total of 10 minutes of data were collected on each child in the classroom. The observed behavior categories were put into a formula to yield a sociability score that was correlated with the items on the teacher rating form. Of the 16 correlations between the rating items and behaviors, 13 were significant in the small group setting (p < .05) but none was significant in the classroom setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archival data from a survey of parent observations was used to determine the prevalence of social and behavioral problems in children with agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC). Parent observations were surveyed using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for 61 children with ACC who were selected from the archive based on criteria of motor development suggesting a relatively high general level of functioning. Younger children with ACC (ages 2-5) were rated as primarily having problems with sleep. Older children with ACC (ages 6-11) manifested problems in attention, social function, thought, and somatic complaints. The older children with ACC were also compared to CBCL data from 52 children with autism who were selected from a previous study. Children with ACC were generally less impaired than children with autism on nearly all scales, with significantly less severe problems in the areas of attention, anxiety/depression, social function, and unusual thoughts. A further questionnaire related to diagnostic criteria for autism indicated that some children with ACC had traits that are among those that contribute to the diagnosis of autism within the domains of social interaction and social communication, but fewer who manifest repetitive and restricted behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]