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Biomedical subjects

S Landesman-Dwyer

Publications and source records attributed to S Landesman-Dwyer.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1982

Maternal drinking and pregnancy outcome.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a distinct pattern of malformation and mental impairment, to date associated only with advanced stages of maternal alcoholism. Children born to alcoholics are at risk for a wide range of problems, including one or a few of the characteristics of FAS. However, moderate to heavy drinking women, as a group, have a significantly increased probability of delivering smaller babies and having children who show some mild behavioral differences compared to controls whose mothers drink much less or not at all. The present review focuses primarily on recent scientific and medical findings and their implications for future research and prevention efforts.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1981

Behavioral correlates of prenatal alcohol exposure: a four-year follow-up study.

This prospective study examined long-term behavioral characteristics of children whose mothers drank alcohol and/or smoked cigarettes during pregnancy, compared to matched controls. Maternal habits had been assessed by interview during pregnancy; alcoholics and alcohol abusers were not included in this study. Primary outcome measures were naturalistic observations of children's behavior at age 4 in the home setting. Offspring of moderate drinkers (mean = 0.45 oz. absolute alcohol/day during pregnancy) generally were less attentive, less compliant with parental commands, and more fidgety during mealtime than were offspring of occasional and non-drinkers (mean = 0.07 oz. absolute alcohol/day during pregnancy). During storytime, an interaction of maternal drinking and child's sex occurred. The postnatal home environments did not differ as a function of maternal drinking or smoking habits.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Living in the community.

The movement to deinstitutionalize and normalize the lives of mentally retarded individuals has led to significant changes in where people live and how programs are administered. In this literature review findings about the relationship between "successful" programs and size, staff to resident ratio, cost, client characteristics, program type, community support, family involvement, and peer relationships were selectively highlighted. Specific recommendations, originally presented to the President's Committee on Mental Retardation, were made for future program development and evaluation.

Community Mental Health Services↗
PubMed1980

Teratogenic effects of alcohol in humans and laboratory animals.

The teratogenicity of alcohol has been demonstrated in humans through clinical studies, behavioral studies, and epidemiologic studies, and in animals through controlled laboratory experiments. In humans exposed to alcohol during gestation the effects can range from fetal alcohol syndrome in some offspring of chronic alcoholic women to reduced average birth weight in offspring of women reporting an average consumption of two to three drinks or more per day. The behavioral effects of such exposure may range from mental retardation in children with fetal alcohol syndrome to milder developmental and behavioral effects in infants born to social drinkers. In animals, exposure to alcohol in utero may result in death, malformation, and growth deficiency as well as behavioral and developmental abnormalities. The mechanisms of impairment and related risk factors are yet to be elucidated.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed1980

Relationship of size to resident and staff behavior in small community residences.

The daily behavior of 240 mentally retarded residents and 75 staff members was analyzed in relation to facility size (ranging from 6 to 20 residents) and other environmental variables. For the 20 group homes studied, staff behavior was remarkably homogeneous and generally unrelated to facility characteristics. In contrast, resident behavior differed significantly across group homes. In larger facilities, residents engaged in more social behavior, particularly with peers, and were more likely to have intense, reciprocal friendships than were those in smaller facilities. Despite more enriched staff:resident ratios in the smaller homes, amount of staff-resident interaction was not related to size. Overall, other environmental variables--such as location and social grouping--were more closely associated with observed behavior patterns than was size.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1979

Affiliation and friendship of mentally retarded residents in group homes.

The social behavior of 208 mentally retarded residents in 18 group homes was observed and analyzed in terms of their (a) informal grouping behavior, (b) affiliation, and (c) intense social relationships ("friendships"). Moderately to mildly retarded residents engaged in "social" types of behavior in groups (primarily dyads) and "neutral" types of behavior when alone. In contrast, profoundly retarded residents did not behave differently when others were present, although they did display social types of behavior. Residents' affiliative behavior was not as related to personal characteristics (sex and intelligence) as it was to (a) size of the group home, (b) average intelligence of the residents in the home, (c) sex ratio in the home, and (d) homogeneity of the residents' backgrounds. Although residents in large homes affiliated more extensively with others, intense relationships were as likely in large as in small homes. Sixteen intense friendships were identified and described. In total, the results support the view that the group home environment can influence residents' affiliation and friendship.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Behavioral changes in nonambulatory, profoundly mentally retarded individuals.

Nonambulatory, profoundly mentally retarded (NPMR) individuals seldom have been studied as a distinct population. This investigation sought to describe the pshysical, etiological, and behavioral characteristics of NPMR children and adults and to evaluate the effects of intensive physical and social stimulation on their ongoing behavior. Sixteen NPMR subjects were studied for 2 1/2 years. All were PMR, bedridden, abnormally small, and unresponsive to external stimulation. Baseline data concerning developmental status, diurnal patterns of sleep and activity, behavior in a novel situation, ongoing ward behavior, and anthropometric measures were obtained. Subjects were highly variable in their responses to items from the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, with overall performance below that of a normal six month old. Although subjects showed some diurnal pattern of sleep, they frequently fell asleep for short periods at random time during the day. In a novel situation subjects responded minimally to stimulus objects, or not at all. Typically, their ongoing ward behavior consisted of very low level activity, involving small peripheral limb movements, wandering or blinking eyes, mouthing or grimacing, and repetitive, reflexive types of patterns labeled "fixed action sequences." Experimental treatment consisted of three phases of daily stimulation. (1) Subjects were placed in an upright or elevated position in specially constructed "playpens." (2) Subjects were placed in "playpens" and many toys were presented. (3) Subjects were positioned in pairs so that direct physical contact was provided. Each phase resulted in changed behavioral profiles during treatment. Furthermore, all experimental subjects showed beneficial effects of treatment in their ongoing ward behavior, diurnal sleep patterns, Bayley performance, or response to novel situations. Implications of this research extend to understanding environmentally induced changes in neurological maturation and social development in individuals previously thought to be hopelessly devastated. The descriptive data are intended to provide a useful framework for further systematic research with NPMR populations.

Adolescent↗