School-based day treatment is an intensive mental health service for children with social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties. Research on day treatment is scarce and descriptions of program models are lacking. We used stimulated recall interviews to explore the moment-to-moment processes and strategies of classroom staff in a day treatment…

The authors present a positive outlook for deaf and hard of hearing children in meeting the high expectations set before them. Like all children, deaf and hard of hearing children thrive in environments that support and promote healthy ways of thinking. When individuals have healthy ways of thinking, they have what researchers call a "growth…

Approximately 30,000 people in the United States have cystic fibrosis (CF), and each year around 1,000 new cases are diagnosed. About one half of this population consists of school-age youth. With an understanding of the psychosocial and mental health factors surrounding CF, school psychologists are well positioned to support children and…

Head Start programs are required to set aside at least 10% of program slots for children with disabilities, but the percentage of children with disabilities served varies depending on the criteria used and source of the information. This study used the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) 2000 data for a nationally representative…

The number of applied behavior analysis (ABA) classrooms for students with autism is increasing in K-12 public schools. To inform instruction of students with autism in public school settings, this study examined the relation between performance on mastery learning assessments and standardized achievement tests for students with autism spectrum…

Individualized education programs (IEPs) are a fundamental mechanism for making special education services unique for the child and for enhancing the developmental outcomes of children with disabilities. If written IEP goals diverge, however, from recommended practices, they might result in ineffective interventions. This study investigated the…

Twelve-year-old Aaron Zibricky, a member of the Lucky Clovers 4-H Club, entered his prize sheep, Star, in the 2005 Will County Fair in Illinois. Zibricky, who is diagnosed with autism, had worked and strived for this moment, putting in long hours feeding, cleaning and shearing the sheep and learning showmanship skills. No one was more elated at…

Appropriate physical education is a mandated part of a child's Individual Educational Program (IEP). It is not optional, nor should parents want it to be optional. This is the time in the day for the child to develop in a variety of ways that are very important to healthy living for the rest of his or her life. The purpose of physical education is…

The rationale of mainstreaming is discussed in light of the need for deemphasis on isolation and labeling, increased protection of human rights, individualization in all phases of education, increased attention to the development of the total child, and greater cost effeiciency in the delivery of services. (DLS)

Providing effective services to promote development of all children is the goal of programs serving young children; this is especially important for programs that include young children who have disabilities or are at risk. Ensuring effectiveness of programming for each individual child can be difficult, and many children will need individualized…

Twenty parents whose handicapped children were receiving early intervention services were encouraged to participate in formal education and training on individualized family service planning (IFSP). A significantly greater number of present level of development statements were included in IFSP documents of participating parents. Increased numbers…

This brief article responds to a previous article on guidelines developed by professional associations for developmentally appropriate early childhood special education practices. The importance of individualization in the application of practices is emphasized, and sample criteria are offered for evaluating the practices. (DB)

This article highlights the importance of parents as intervention agents for young children with special needs. It describes individualized training in behavioral strategies for parents, explains procedures for helping parents gain skills that foster their children's development, and suggests that parents will maintain the skills and generalize…

This study was designed to examine the effects of tracing and fading prompts to improve the handwriting of two preschoolers both diagnosed as Developmentally Delayed (DD) and one of whom had fine motor goals. The study took place in a self-contained special education public preschool classroom located in the Pacific Northwest. The results showed…

Children with autism present unique challenges related to communication, behavior, and social skills. Each child with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibits individual characteristics of the disorder. Early identification of autistic spectrum disorder has been shown to improve the child's benefit from educational interventions. There may be…