The purpose of the present study was to clarify the relation between the ability to make phonological transformations and the utilization of priming effects. Elementary school children with dyslexia (N=3) were instructed to report when they recognized target hiragana (Japanese syllable) words presented tachistoscopically. Target presentation durations were 20ms, 80ms, and 140ms. Although no stimulus was presented as the antecedent stimulus in trials in which the ability to make phonological transformations was tested, congruent and incongruent words for the target words were presented in some trials in order to examine priming effects. Although one of the children had no problem with phonological transformations and showed results similar to children without dyslexia in the utilization of priming effects, the results from the other 2 children, who had difficulty with phonological transformations, suggested the prime utilization in reading. Discussion dealt with the compensatory role of the utilization of priming effects by children with dyslexia in order to deal with the problem of phonological transformation.

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Changes in small involuntary movements of the lower jaw and in heart rate were analyzed in responsive environments in a 3-year-old child with profound and multiple disabilities who needed intensive medical care. The movements of her jaw were the only ones observed on a daily basis. In 23 sessions in the first period, and 17 in the second, a small sensor switch was attached to her lower jaw. About 25s of music was presented through 2 small vibratory speakers under her hands following each movement of her jaw. In the second period, additional stimuli presented through the speakers were the sounds of speech and singing. The frequency of the small involuntary movements of her jaw increased following the presentation of the musical or vocal stimuli. In the second period, changes in heart rate during presentation of the music or voice were analyzed. Temporary changes in heart rate were not observed, but rather a continuous increase or decrease of the average heart rate was found. The results of the present study suggest that making a responsive environment contingent on the small involuntary movements of children with profound disabilities might be a significant way to identify clues for interacting with them.

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The present research investigated how parents of children with high-functioning pervasive developmental disorders (HFPDD) first became aware of and recognized their child's condition. Participants in the study were 80 pairs of parents. The results showed important differences between the mothers and the fathers. The mothers noticed their child's condition earlier, were more seriously worried, and were more active in the treatment of the disabilities than the fathers were, prior to their child receiving a diagnosis. Even though the mothers had already recognized the child's condition, the official notification of the child's disabilities and the diagnosis triggered an emotional shock in the parents. Many of the fathers displayed only negative feelings, and were not willing to accept their child's disabilities easily, whereas many of the mothers displayed both negative and positive feelings, and accepted the situation willingly. After receiving their child's diagnosis, the parents recognized the disability up to one year. However, the mothers and fathers understanding of their child's disability differed.

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Self-perception is made up of domain-specific judgments of one's own competence and adequacy in areas such as scholastic competence, athletic competence, physical appearance, social acceptance, and behavioral conduct. The purpose of the present study was to investigate differences in self-perception and self-esteem between children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) and children without that disorder. The test used, the Japanese Version of the Scale for the Self-Cognition for Children (JSSC; Tanaka, Wada, & Kojima, 2005) was based on Harter's (1985) Self-Perception Scale for Children (SPPC). The participants were 4th- to 6th-grade elementary school pupils, 45 of whom had been diagnosed as having AD/HD, and 198 without such a diagnosis. The results showed that the AD/HD group had a lower self-perception of their own behavioral conduct and social acceptance compared to the group not diagnosed as having AD/HD. Influences of self-perception on the self-esteem of children with and without AD/HD were also examined. The results showed that in the children without AD/HD, all domains except for athletic competence influenced self-esteem. However, in the children with AD/HD, scholastic competence and physical appearance influenced self-esteem.

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[in Japanese]

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