This is a preliminary study of 37 infants with deformational plagiocephaly. In this first effort to create a profile of factors that may contribute to the onset and progress of developmental plagiocephaly, parents were interviewed concerning selected practices before and immediately after the birth of their infants. Results of the study do not reveal a clear or concise pattern of factors that may contribute to this condition. There needs to be additional research on the benefits and potential hazards of sleep position to infants as one of the factors that may contribute to deformational plagiocephaly.

With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), increasing numbers of interpreters for the deaf are being employed in education, industry, or other settings. Professional interpreters are at risk for developing cumulative trauma disorders due to the nature of their work which involves rapid repetitive movements of the arms and hands. One hundred forty-five interpreters for the deaf responded to a survey questionnaire designed to identify their work experiences and development of physical pain/discomfort related to work. Incidence and duration of pain/discomfort is positively correlated with hours worked and time of onset. Regardless of age, training, or work experience, 119 (82%) of these respondents experienced disabling pain/discomfort during and following work. Thirty-nine (33%) of the 119 respondents indicated onset of pain or discomfort in the wrist and hand. These data suggest that interpreting for the deaf may result in debilitating pain/discomfort in hands, arms, shoulders, and back if the interpreter is not appropriately prepared to compensate for physical and attentional stresses. Implications include the need to provide periods of rest while working and to provide training for students learning to interpret for the deaf to minimize physical stress while working.

Over the last decade, infants with deformities in the craniofacial skeleton have been seen at our craniofacial center, and similar observations have been noted in infants seen for evaluation and management after birth, where there are not any evident pathological findings such as craniosynostosis or another known genetic disorder. The known condition of deformational plagiocephaly has been related to a sequela of the infants being placed on their back for sleep. The change in the position of the infants to sleep on their back was altered from the traditional position, where infants were placed in the prone position for many decades in the past in the Western world. A special study was initiated to compile meaningful data to help those in the field pursue their treatment of affected children in a systematic and comprehensive manner. Avoidance of unnecessary surgery was essential in those children unless the deformational condition persisted and was not resolvable by nonsurgical means and change in the cultural habitat.

Persons with repaired congenital cleft lips and palates retain the distinguishing visible feature of a facial scar and may exhibit a speech difference of hypernasality. Rehabilitation of these individuals is long and costly between birth and eighteen years of age. However, the literature does not reflect programs which prepare these clients to succeed in employment interviews and in job acquisition. Neither is there evidence of efforts to inform employers of the potentials of persons who exhibit this handicap in facial appearance and in speech.This research was designed to investigate employer bias in judging an employee with a cleft lip and palate with and without a speech disorder. Twenty-six business and professional men rated observable characteristics of a videotaped adult male speaker in the two conditions. Results indicate that employers respond negatively to both the cleft lip and to the disorder. When the two elements were combined, the judgments were more negative. Judges suggested nonpublic occupations for which the speaker could be successfully employed.

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The purpose of this study was to establish an adequate standardization sample for the Boston Naming Test. Three-hundred-fifty-seven subjects from kindergarten through sixth grade participated in this project. Means, standard deviations, and ranges of performance in accuracy and latency were established for age and grade. Based on our results, the Boston Naming Test appears to be an efficient and valid screening measure of students' word-finding skills at K through 6th grade levels.

Longitudinal follow-up data on development and school placement are presented for three groups of patients. Having had or not having had early surgical intervention and stimulation distinguishes the two groups of patients with craniosynostosis. The third group is patients with cleft lip and palate who received early intervention but did not achieve minimal criteria for communication by age 22 months. Educational placement (for patients 8 to 20 years of age) follows the pattern of distribution of students nationally for patients who had early intervention.

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