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September 2005, Vol.5, No.9

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.

Dear AAMR Friends and Colleagues:

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. TheSupports 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, visithttp://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, visithttp://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, visithttp://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 110^th 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 athttp://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, visithttp://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

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