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This review summarizes subject selection and diagnostic procedures documented in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. One hundred forty-two empirical articles published between February 1993 and April 1997 were examined. Reviewers independently evaluated articles using a coding instrument developed by the authors. Results indicated that a majority of researchers reported the use of one or more standard diagnostic criteria in classifying their subjects. However, numerous studies did not report the methods by which the diagnostic criteria were quantified or applied. Additionally, there was a lack of clear specification of inclusion and exclusion criteria for comorbid disorders. Improving the documentation of diagnostic practices in research on autism will benefit researchers and practitioners.

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The primary goal of this retrospective study was to assess parental report of current sleep disorders in school-aged attention deficit disorder (ADD) children, as well as recalled sleep problems from when the children were infants (0-12 months) and toddlers (1-3 years). Results of a sleep questionnaire completed by mothers of 48 ADD children and a comparison group of 30 patients with school problems indicate that ADD children were perceived to have significantly more sleep problems and that these problems had onset in infancy. Specific items in the questionnaire which were increased included latency to sleep onset of more than 30 min at least 3 nights per week, fatigue upon awakening, and recall of nightmares. Pediatric clinicians should be alert to possible sleep disorders in children suspected of attention disorders and should consider "sleep hygiene" measures as a component of treatment.

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The purpose of this study was to assess the rate of self-reported substance use, consequent problems, perceived need for treatment, and receipt of treatment by persons with long-term spinal cord injury (SCI). Information was obtained from 86 persons with traumatic SCI who were between 13 and 58 years of age at injury, cognitively intact, injured more than two years earlier, English speaking, and recruited from two SCI organizations. The mean age of the sample was 39.5 years at recruitment: 69% were men. Participants reported substance use information across four periods covering six months before injury to an average of 13 years after injury. All participants reported use of substances with abuse potential at some time in their lives; the time of greatest use was injury to six months before first interview. The duration of this period ranged from 18 months to 43 years. Problems resulting from substance use were reported by 70%; more than half (52%) the sample reported problems during this postinjury period. Sixteen percent of the sample believed they needed treatment at some time; the time of greatest perceived need was in the period after injury. Treatment for substance abuse was received by 7%. Problems attributable to abuse of both prescription and nonprescription medication were reported, suggesting the importance of close monitoring of substance-use patterns in persons with SCI who are prescribed sedating or narcotic medications. Timely assessment of problems related to substance use and provision of treatment services to persons with traumatic injury are indicated to prevent a potential dual disability.

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This study investigated 238 consecutive admissions to an adult head trauma unit during six years. Eighty-seven patients with posttraumatic epilepsy (PTE) were identified. Rehabilitation outcome was measured by a locally developed rating scale obtained at admission and discharge for all head trauma patients. The PTE and non-PTE groups were comparable in terms of demographic and medical characteristics except for proportion of men, which was higher in the PTE group (84% vs 66%, p less than .05). Both groups demonstrated significant functional gains on all measures during the course of their hospitalization (p less than .01), although the PTE patients demonstrated lower levels of function at admission and discharge on items rated by physical, occupational, speech, and recreation therapists, and by psychologists. Furthermore, PTE patients required a higher level of nursing care on discharge (p less than .05). It appears that PTE does not impede the rehabilitation process but significantly impacts posthospital rehabilitation plans of patients with blunt head injuries.

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We administered the go-no-go paradigm to 44 boys with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and 32 control subjects who did not have ADD. This task requires a subject to emit a simple motor response to one cue while inhibiting the response in the presence of another cue. Commission errors suggest impulsivity, and omission errors suggest inattention. ADD subjects made more total errors than did control subjects (p less than 0.03), and more ADD subjects made multiple errors (p less than 0.001). Within the ADD group, the nonhyperactive (ADDnoH) subjects were characterized by a high number of commission errors early, and significant improvement with practice (p less than 0.01). In contrast, the hyperactive ADD subjects (ADD/H) did not differ from control subjects in number of early commission errors, but differed from both control subjects and ADDnoH subjects in their failure to improve with practice. In addition, the incidence of omission errors was highest in the ADD/H group. This paradigm can be easily incorporated into the assessment of children with suspected ADD and provides an objective measure of inattention and impulsivity. Our data provide cognitive support for the empirical distinction between hyperactive and nonhyperactive children with ADD.

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