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S G Funk

Publications and source records attributed to S G Funk.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Preschool Denver Developmental Screening Test as a predictor of later school problems.

We compared three preschool tests as predictors of school problems at the end of first grade. A stratified sample of 113 4 1/2- to 5 1/2-year-old children, oversampling those at risk for developmental difficulties, was administered the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST), the Stanford-Binet IQ test (SB), and a two-stage shortened form of the DDST in the spring before school entry. Data from achievement tests, special class placement, and grade retention were obtained for 106 of the children at the end of first grade. Eighty-four percent of children with abnormal DDST scores had school difficulties by the end of first grade, compared with 47% of children with scores in the questionable range and only 15% of children in the normal range. Prediction from the SB was not as accurate; 72% of the children who scored less than 68 and 42% of those who scored between 68 and 84 on the preschool SB had school problems. Prediction for those children who had abnormal or questionable scores on the two-stage DDST was as good as prediction from the full DDST. However, far fewer of the total number of school problems were identified by the two-stage DDST. It appears that the DDST can be used on an individual basis for prediction of school problems.

Child Development↗
PubMed1985

Disproportionate intra-uterine head growth and developmental outcome.

The authors examined the relationship between disproportionate intra-uterine head growth, or a relatively small head, and later development, using data collected as part of the Collaborative Perinatal Project of the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke. Within the population of infants who are normal by conventional criteria (term infants with appropriate weight and head-circumference for gestational age), a group with relatively small heads was defined by each of four different methods. Developmental outcome measures included the Bayley Mental and Motor Scales at eight months, Stanford-Binet IQ at four years and Wechsler Intelligence Scales IQ at seven years. No clinically meaningful differences in developmental outcome were found between the infants with relatively small heads and the remainder of the infants.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1985

Epidemiology of trauma in a population of incarcerated youth.

This study assessed the types, circumstances, frequency, and health consequences of trauma suffered by juvenile delinquents at a secure residential training school. A review of 369 medical records of 387 teenagers, aged 10 to 17 years, admitted to one such facility between 1978 and 1982 was made. Of the 369 students, 191 students (52%) suffered 391 separate trauma incidents serious enough to require a health care provider's attention. Circumstances surrounding the injuries included sports (36%), fights (20%), self-inflicted injuries (13%), suicide attempts (9%), incidents related to vocational studies (8%), and horseplay (3%). The most common types of injuries were musculoskeletal trauma, scratches, bruises and lacerations, and fractures. The usual sites of injury were the extremities, head, or neck. More than 50% of trauma incidents required a physician's attention initially or in follow-up; 28% of the injured were referred to an off-campus facility; 21% necessitated radiologic or laboratory studies; 4% required hospitalization; and one student died. The average trauma rate for teenagers in this setting was 1.2 injuries per person per year; the average rate of hospitalizations for trauma was 0.04 hospitalizations per person per year. These data call for further studies of trauma morbidity among adolescents in this and other settings and for innovative trauma prevention strategies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Cognitive development related to performance on preschool hearing screening tests.

Behavioral responses to routine hearing screening were measured on 730 preschool children (ages 52 to 70 months). A stratified sample (which oversampled children "at risk" for developmental delay) also received a standardized test of cognitive abilities (McCarthy Scales or the Stanford-Binet). The results revealed that children without audiologic pathology who failed one or more of three hearing test behavioral scales scored significantly lower on the McCarthy Scales or Stanford-Binet than other children. Children failing two or more scales formed a definite risk group, with a group mean approximately two standard deviations below the national mean on both the McCarthy Scales and the Stanford-Binet. The data thus indicate that it is possible to gather simultaneous information about hearing ability and cognitive status.

Audiometry, Pure-Tone↗
PubMed1982

Adaptations of the Denver Developmental Screening Test: a study of preschool screening.

Developmental screening tests are only rarely used in pediatric practice, reportedly because of lack of available time. This study evaluated a shortened form of the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST-S) consisting of only those items immediately to the left of the child's individual are line, three in each sector or a total of 12. This DDST-S was administered to four cohorts of preschool children (aged 52 to 64 months), 1,819 children in all. Subsamples of these children returned within three months for one of several developmental (criterion) tests (McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, the complete DDST, or the Stanford-Binet). The DDST-S was scored by selecting the profile of passes and failures most predictive of McCarthy test results, using indices of copositivity, connegativity, underreferral, and overreferral as the basis for the decision. Utilizing this scoring system, use of the DDST-S was able to identify low scorers (those scoring less than 70) on the Stanford-Binet (sensitivity = .67, specificity = .95, predictive value = .54, underreferral = 2.5%, overreferral = 4%) as well as the complete DDST. Low scoring children could thus be identified in less than half the time required by the complete DDST. A two-stage DDST-S and DDST procedure was found to have even greater predictive value (76%; 100% if borderline cases [score of 70 to 80] are considered positive) than either form alone.

Child Development↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The NEECHAM Confusion Scale: construction, validation, and clinical testing.

This article reports the development of the NEECHAM Confusion Scale for rapid and unobtrusive assessment and monitoring of acute confusion. The scale was tested in two samples (N = 168 and 258, respectively) of elderly patients hospitalized for acute medical illness. Internal consistency and interrater reliability of the instrument were found to be high. The NEECHAM correlated well with the Mini-Mental State Examination and the sum of DSM-III-R positive items. Factor analyses identified and confirmed cognitive/behavioral and physiological domains. The NEECHAM provides a valid and reliable bedside assessment of acute confusion, particularly at its onset and in patients with "quiet" manifestations.

Confusion↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A developmental approach to preschool vision screening.

A developmental approach to preschool vision screening is described. The choice of acuity testing material in this test is determined by the child's capabilities, assessed prior to acuity testing. When compared with the Society for Prevention of Blindness test, this approach yields approximately half the number of untestables. Further, the acuity data from the two screening tests are quite similar, and both agree well with data from an additional screening by a pediatric ophthalmologist. Screening of preschool children usually requires a number of compromises in methods felt to be ideal for adults. Sacrifices in cost (i.e., additional personnel to assist the tester), additional effort (i.e., prior training of the children), or precision of acuity measures (i.e., cruder picture type targets for all children and use of isolated targets) are typically made to assure testability. These problems have been minimized by the Experimental method. Because of its low untestability rate and its apparently valid acuity data, this developmental vision screening test can be recommended as a cost effective approach to preschool vision screening. Previous research has shown that ratings of a child's behavior during this developmentally oriented vision screening test predict results of diagnostic cognitive tests as accurately as extensive tests designed exclusively for developmental screening. This test is then extremely cost effective when used for comprehensive preschool screening.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Parental Stressor Scale: neonatal intensive care unit.

This article is a report of the development of the Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PSS:NICU), which is designed to measure parental perception of stressors arising from the physical and psychosocial environment of the neonatal intensive care unit. Stress theory, literature reviews, expert consultation, and parent interviews guided instrument development and refinement and established the content validity of the instrument. Construct validity is supported by links with theory, correlation with anxiety measures, and factor analytic results. Alpha coefficients support the tool's internal consistency. Three scales were identified: Parental Role Alterations, Sights and Sounds of the Unit, and Infant Behavior and Appearance. Available metrics allow scoring for stress occurrence levels, overall stress levels, and number of stressors experienced. The PSS:NICU can serve as a research or clinical measure to evaluate stressors experienced by parents with infants in a NICU.

Adolescent↗