Relation between musical aptitude and intelligence among mentally retarded, advantaged, and disadvantaged subjects

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in scores of 59 mentally retarded adults (mild, moderate, severe, or profound), 133 advantaged, and 130 disadvantaged (low income) children in Grades 1, 2, 3 on the Primary Measures of Music Audiation. Test-retest reliabilities for the Tonal and Rhythm subtests were .81 and .86, respectively, for the retarded group. Analysis of variance indicated that the mildly retarded children performed significantly better than other groups of retarded children on these two tests. 2 x 3 analyses of variance indicated that third graders from both advantaged and disadvantaged groups performed significantly better than the first or second graders on both subtests and that advantaged children performed significantly better than the disadvantaged. However, disadvantaged children made greater gains, especially for third graders, than the advantaged.     

The status of epileptic patients in a developing African country: northwest Ethiopia

Of 1240 first-time consultations in the neuropsychiatric clinic of the Gondar College of Medical Sciences in an eleven-month period during 1985 and 1986, 152 patients came seeking relief from seizures. This paper deals with the origins and background of diagnostic, differential diagnostic, and therapeutic problems, and with problems of social rehabilitation. While in such a tradition-bound society certain hypotheses continue to have an unfavorable effect, there are unmistakable signs of positive change against a background of rapid social change. Conclusions are drawn for the better management of epileptic patients in developing countries.     

Response latency measurements to visual cognitive tasks by normal hearing and deaf subjects

Visual cognitive differences between hearing (N = 16) and deaf (N = 32) high-school and middle-school students were studied. Visual tasks were presented on a microcomputer and response latencies were collected. Significant differences were noted between the deaf and normal groups but not between total communication deaf and oral deaf students. These differences support the hypothesis that deaf students prefer a visual cognitive strategy. Implications for educating the deaf are discussed.