The counselling effectiveness of guidance officers (GOs) was examined in a study involving 21 State secondary schools in Queensland. Students from Year 8 to Year 12 from each school were asked to rate the level of satisfaction with a counselling session. This was measured by the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ) developed by Larsen, Attkisson, Hargreaves and Nguyen (1979). Based on Strong's (1968) Social Influence model, counselling was assumed to be an interpersonal influence process. Therefore these students also rated their perceptions of a GO's counselling attributes on the Counselor Rating Form – Short Version (CRF-S; Corrigan & Schmidt, 1983). Results indicated that ratings on the 12 CRF-S items as a total as well as a number of individual items significantly predicted CSQ scores. Student ratings on both questionnaires were high and possible explanations are considered. Also, several GO and student variables (e.g. sex of student, willingness, year level) were found to significantly predict satisfaction. Additionally, a number of these GO and student variables (e.g. GO and sex of student, willingness, the number of counselling sessions) were also found to differentially affect students' perceptions of GOs' counselling attributes.

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of numerous explanations for ongoing behaviour disturbance in children both at home and school. With an incidence rate of between 5% and 10% in the general population, it accounts for a significant percentage of patients presented at child guidance facilities. It is a pervasive and chronic developmental disorder as apparent from its natural course. Treatment, while effective in the short-term, has limited impact on the long-term prospects for these children. Current research in multi-modal, long-term treatment is however producing more positive results. Presentation of research findings on the classroom behaviour of ADHD are followed by consideration of several methods for assessing the disorder. The paper concludes with a brief outline of the role teachers, guidance officers and school counsellors can play in this major childhood disorder.

Gifted underachievers are children who display a discrepancy between high achievement and actual performance. Focusing on gifted children with a long-standing pattern of underachievement not explicable in terms of learning disability, this paper adopts a developmental perspective to the problem of gifted underachievement. Literature is reviewed on the affective development of gifted underachievers and the environmental factors which may foster or diminish success in school. It is argued that cognitive and affective variables do not operate independently and should not be considered in isolation from the environmental context of development. Further, gifted underachievers are situation-specif icand highly variable. Finally, implications for intervention are discussed in light of the need to view children's development not as a dichotomy of cognitive and affective change but holistically, as a complex interaction of child and environment.

Down's Syndrome has long been associated with mental retardation. This has resulted in expectations of moderate or severe mental retardation in individuals with Down's Syndrome (Hopkins, 1983). Although there has been acceptance of the possibility of variability of attainments, a certain predictability of outcome has been assumed since Down's Syndrome is a condition resulting from known chromosomal abnormalities (Springer & Steele, 1980; Hopkins, 1983).

School phobics/ref usals form a heterogeneous group of students whose different etiology necessitates an understanding of different management strategies. Although anxiety and psychosomatic symptoms are common traits of the condition, a multi-faceted approach of evaluating and working with the school environment, the family and the student is needed. Younger students have responded well to behaviourally based strategies, while older and adolescent school phobic students are more resistant to treatment, with the school phobia often one aspect of a more complex social-emotional problem. The need to have the student return to school, yet still provide support and understanding to the family and the student is critical. Persistence, consistence and cooperation on the part of the school and family are important factors in the management strategies.

This paper argues the need for the setting up of an Affective Needs Support Resource to complement needs support functions currently being implemented in Queensland State high schools. Such a resource is valuable in its own right for enhancing the quality of life of all students but is seen to be an urgent need if the integration of disabled students is to succeed.