This article describes the Language Interaction Intervention Program (LIIP) used in preschool classes for handicapped children in central New Jersey. Covered are the LIIP curriculum rationale, the LIIP model, the original evaluation study, and a replication study showing the program was effectively replicated with mothers appropriately changing…

The observation manual provides a system for the naturalistic observation of interactions between the preschool child and the caregiver. It can be used in research with the preschool aged child and the parent or teacher in home, laboratory, or school settings. The behavior categories included are applicable for collecting frequency data or…

A code to systematically observe preschool settings in which handicapped children were placed was designed to determine the types of interaction and play behavior that occurs in these settings. The code records the following information: play area the child is in, how many children are in the same area, the play behavior the child is undertaking,…

This observational study of three preschool children with profound disabilities in an integrated setting revealed frequent opportunities for peer social interactions and indicated that subjects engage in interactions of comparable length to those of nondisabled peers. The importance of helping young nondisabled children understand and respond to…

This study examined the effect of various intervention contexts on the ability of young children (ages 3 and 4 years) with language impairments to effectively direct communications to a partner and to vary communicative intentions. The six children in the study were either nonverbal or in the early stages of developing verbal communication and all…

Suggests, based on observations of children in a nursery school drawing activity, that what children understand about drawing is intimately tied to what they know of drawing activities undertaken in a particular social context. (FL)

Suggestions for narrowing the discrepancy between the knowledge base of early communication development and the implementation of effective communication interventions for severely handicapped infants and young children are offered including strategies for facilitating emerging language development, increasing positive interactions with infants,…

Five teachers using a conversational approach to language teaching with hearing-impaired students were studied. Teachers tended to exert a high level of conversational control, though conversational control decreased over time. The children (ages 4-10) exhibited language growth in their imitations and responses but not in spontaneous utterances.…

The nine readings in this monograph focus on ways to improve the social skills of students with emotional/behavioral disorders. The following readings are included: (1) "Analysis of Literature on Social Competence of Behaviorally Disordered Children and Youth" (Sarup R. Mathur and Robert B. Rutherford, Jr.); (2) "A Validation of Social Skills for…

This curriculum is for an intensive 5-day institute in team assessment of young children with disabilities. Each of the eight chapters includes text, training activities, and an annotated bibliography. Sample forms and evaluation guides are appended to relevant chapters. The introductory chapter presents an assessment philosophy and notes…

A model for assessing the interactive sources of communication development in young children is proposed, focusing on the reciprocal behaviors of both adults and children. The model integrates theoretical and empirical findings and is designed for parallel diagnostic and treatment purposes in five areas: social play, turn taking, nonverbal…