Griffiths Mental Development Scales (review)

Reviews Can't Your Child Hear?, Roger D. Freeman, M.D., Clifton F. Carbin, M.Ed., and Robert J. Boese, Ph.D. 340 pp., $16.95 paperback, University Park Press, 300 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, 1981. Can't Your Child Hear? is an excellent book for parents of deaf children. The authors have asked more than 60 resource persons with a variety of skills and points of view to comment on each chapter in its draft form. These resource persons included parents of deaf children, deaf people of different countries, and professionals of various disciplines from nine countries. The book addresses parents of deaf children and is equally valuable for professional workers who teach and counsel families. It is written so the lay person can understand the information. An extensive list of references is included for the general reader and professional people. The authors strongly favor Total Communication and clearly explain their reasons. This comprehensive guide is for parents who are in the process of making a decision about communication systems for themselves and their deaf child. It is invaluable for pediatricians, otologists, audiologists, and others who advise parents after the initial diagnosis of deafness. AU programs dedicated to the education of families of deaf children will want to include the material covered in this book. Not only parents but siblings, grandparents, and other relatives need to understand the fundamental information in these chapters. Some family members will enjoy reading the entire book. Others need the parent educator to cover all the material in ways that are beneficial to each individual. Aileen Boutilier Hall, M.A. Assistant Principal Maryland School for the Deaf— Columbia Columbia, Maryland 21044 basic language skills from the preschool to the secondary levels. It has five parts: a test manual, a screening level, and three levels of assessment which are referenced to 69 instructional objectives . The task for the student taking the test is to look at a picture, then sequence a random string of words into a grammatically correct sentence . The total test can be administered to one or more students in a short period of time (less than 1 hour and 20 minutes). Scoring is done by hand on a criterion performance form (individual data folder) which lists the objectives covered by the items of the test. The content of the test is based on contemporary linguistic research and deaf children; it appears to have the necessary psychometric properties. This test has many attractive features. It is inexpensive, easy to administer and score, and gives the teacher concrete diagnostic information on which to build a syntax program. The text format is particulary attractive as it requires the student to sequence words into sentences rather than guessing at a correct sentence as with multiple-choice test items. The individual test folder eliminates the burdensome paperwork of documenting the child's progress as one file could be kept on each student for several years. The test would be useful to classroom teachers and professionals in teacher training programs. ¡ean F. Andrews, M.Ed. Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, KY 40475 Griffiths Mental Development Scales (for testing babies and young children from birth to 8 years of age), Ruth Griffiths, 19 pp. book and 1 p. form, prices from $24.38, The Test Agency, Cournswood House, North Dean, High Wycombe, Bucks, 1973. Written Language Syntax Test, Sharon R. Berry, Manual (29 pp.), Screening Level (7 pp.), Level 1 (15 pp.), Level 2 (19 pp.), Level 3 (19 pp.), $10.00, Gallaudet College Press, Kendall Green, Washington, DC 20002, 1981. This test of written language performance is designed for hearing-impaired students with Although this test was made for hearing children , it can be used with deaf children. I highly recommend it for psychologists who know little about deafness. It shows clearly that the rest of the development in "normally deaf children" follows the development of hearing children. Christine Comeau M.P's Psychologist Institution des Sourds de Montreal Montreal, Canada H2R 2Yl A.A.D. I December 1983 861 ...