This report documents the personal views and experiences gained while conducting training courses for caregivers of persons with mental handicap in many countries of Asia. The experiences are presented as an example of what can be done in a situation of limited material resources to improve the lives of people with mental handicap in developing…

The recognition within the past few decades of the American Deaf Community as an indigenous cultural and linguistic minority group has altered the previous view of deaf individuals by the "hearing world" as being handicapped or disabled. The primary goals of this technical report are: (1) to compare a cultural view of deafness to the traditional,…

From 1996-2001, the Early Childhood Research Institute on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) has worked to support practitioners in increasing their understanding and awareness of the impact of culture and language on their interactions with children and families. This report presents four articles outlining some of the key…

This article discusses the various cultural interpretations of severe disabilities and the role of enculturation in determining family expectations and participation within the special education system. Research-based techniques and ideas are presented to facilitate increased competence with families in which English is not the first language.…

In this report, shifts underway in early intervention (EI) from a professional-centered to a more family-centered model of service delivery are documented. The demographic changes in the past decade of young children and families receiving EI services (e.g., teen parents, children with more complex developmental and medical needs), in addition to…

This report provides a theoretical framework for understanding different approaches to interaction intervention and uses this framework as background for considering how various cultural factors might influence families' (and providers') views of these approaches. Most research in interaction intervention has been conducted without explicit…

This report provides an overview of the family information gathering process in early intervention. Family information gathering is an important element in the provision of early intervention services to families with children from birth to age 3 who have disabilities or who are at risk for developmental delays. A family's socioeconomic status,…