AAMR F.Y.I.
September 2005, Vol.5, No.9
Visit http://www.aamr.org/FYI/ to access
current and past issues of this monthly newsletter.
Our deepest sympathies to all those affected by hurricane Katrina. AAMR has
set up a Katrina relief fund and is working with local chapters on identifying
members in affected areas. Visit www.aamr.org to learn more about contributing
to relief efforts.
FIND
OUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO STATE-OF-THE-ART OPTIONS IN SUPPORTS ASSESSMENT-SIS
ELECTRONIC SCORING PROGRAM AND SISONLINE
The Supports Intensity Scale, a planning tool for professionals in
developmental disability services, is now available in two electronic formats.
SISOnline is the world's first web-based assessment tool that enables
professionals to score the entire SIS form electronically. The Supports
Intensity Scale is also available as a standalone application on CD-ROM
and can be completed on any computer running on a Windows operating system.
Learn more at http://www.siswwebsite.org
Questions? Email books@aamr.org
MAJORITY OF DOCTORS NOT TRAINED TO TREAT HEALTH PROBLEMS OF PERSONS WITH
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, SAYS NEW REPORT
A new report by Special Olympics shows that health professionals are not receiving
adequate training to treat persons with intellectual disabilities. As a result,
this special population is often overlooked in the health care system. The
study was led by Stephen Corbin, Dean of Special Olympics University and Matthew
Holder, Executive Director of the American Academy of Developmental Medicine
and Dentistry.
To read the report findings, visit http://northamerica.specialolympics.org/research/
Click here to read a press release on the report.
FIRST EVER BEST PRACTICES GUIDE PUBLISHED ON HOW TO EXERCISE CLINICAL JUDGMENT
IN PROFESSIONAL DECISIONS
Clinicians are often asked to make critical life decisions under restricted
opportunities for assessment, interviews, and observations. A new best practices
guide titled Clinical Judgment provides concrete guidelines on how to
integrate clinical judgment into daily decision-making.
To read a table of contents and an introduction from the book by Ruth Luckasson and Robert L. Schalock, visit http://www.aamr.org/Reading_Room/pdf/Clinicaljudgment.pdf.
To purchase a copy of the book ($19.95, paperback), call 301-604-1340 or email aamr@pmds.com. The book is published by the American Association on Mental Retardation.
The state of New Mexico recently used Clinical Judgment to train staff on using professional judgment while determining eligibility for special education services. Says assessment consultant, Dan Farley, "We used the guidance in the book to "beef up" our description of professional judgment as it applies to eligibility determinations in the Developmental Delay, Mental Retardation, and Specific Learning Disability categories. These categories all require the application of "data threshold" interpretations. We didn't want mechanistic application of data thresholds such as a 70 IQ to trump professional judgment. We found the criteria listed in Clinical Judgment to be beneficial in helping us to describe this important expectation."
To see how Clinical Judgment has been referenced in the New Mexico Technical Evaluation and Assessment Manual, visit http://www.ped.state.nm.us/seo/library/nmteam.htm.
Questions? Contact AAMR at books@aamr.org
SCIENTISTS DISCOVER THAT SEVERITY OF RETT
SYNDROME DEPENDS ON WHETHER GENE IS PASSED ON BY MOTHER OR FATHER
Researchers
at the Children's Medical Research Institute and the Children’s
Hospital at Westmead, Australia have found that inheriting a faulty gene from
the father, rather than the mother can influence the severity of symptoms related
to Rett Syndrome, the second most common form of mental
retardation in females.
Visit http://www.cmri.com.au/forms/unpicking-the-seam.pdf to read a press release on the discovery and abstracts published in the American Journal of Human Genetics and Human Molecular Genetics.
AMERICAN JOURNAL ON MENTAL RETARDATION IS TOP JOURNAL IN SPECIAL EDUCATION
AND REHABILITATION FIELDS
The American Journal on Mental Retardation (AJMR) published by the
American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR) ranks first among 26 journals
in special education and third among 45 journals published in rehabilitation,
according to the latest impact factor rankings. Currently in its 110th year
of publication, AJMR is a bi-monthly journal on research in biological, behavioral,
and educational sciences and is edited by William E. MacLean, Jr., at the University
of Wyoming (MacLean@uwyo.edu).
Mental Retardation, also published by AAMR, ranked 3rd in special education and 8th in the rehabilitation field. Learn more about Mental Retardation at http://aamr.allenpress.com/aamronline/?request=index-html
To see a list of articles from the latest issue of AJMR, visit
http://aamr.allenpress.com/aamronline/?request=get-toc&issn=0895-8017&volume=110&issue=5.
To learn more about the journal, visit http://aamr.allenpress.com/aamronline/?request=index-html
Click here to learn more about impact factor rankings published by Thomson ISI.
AAMR F.Y.I. is compiled by Anna Prabhala, Editor. Please submit comments, suggestions, tips, and news to annap@aamr.org
Access past issues of AAMR F.Y.I. at www.aamr.org/FYI/. To subscribe, visit http://www.responsetrack.net/aamr/sign_up
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