Findings from research syntheses of adult learning and in-service training studies identified the importance of professional development as a factor influencing practitioner use of recommended and evidence-based intervention practices. These relationships were used to test the hypothesis that practice-specific evidence-based capacity-building…

Early childhood intervention practitioners (N = 42) reviewed three early intervention performance checklists and three intervention practice guides and made social validity judgments of the acceptability and importance of the products. Both the checklists and practice guides included evidence-based characteristics and indicators that are known to…

Findings from a randomized controlled design study of an ability-based versus needs-based approach to response-contingent learning among children with significant developmental delays and disabilities who did not use instrumental behavior to produce reinforcing consequences are reported. The ability-based intervention and needs-based intervention…

Findings from a survey of parents' ratings of seven different human-like qualities of four socially interactive robots are reported. The four robots were Popchilla, Keepon, Kaspar, and CosmoBot. The participants were 96 parents and other primary caregivers of young children with disabilities 1 to 12 years of age. Results showed that Popchilla, a…

Findings from a meta-analysis of studies investigating the use of five different assistive technology devices (switch interfaces, powered mobility, computers, augmentative communication, weighted/pressure vests) with young children with disabilities are reported. One hundred and nine studies including 1,342 infants, toddlers, and preschoolers were…

The effects of a socially interactive robot on the conversational turns between four young children with autism and their mothers were investigated as part of the intervention study described in this research report. The interventions with each child were conducted over 4 or 5 days in the children's homes where a practitioner facilitated…

Findings from two studies of 11 young children with autism, Down syndrome, or attention deficit disorders investigating the effects of Popchilla, a socially interactive robot, on the children's affective behavior are reported. The children were observed under two conditions, child-toy interactions and child-robot interactions, and ratings of child…

The effects of a socially interactive robot on the vocalization production of five children with disabilities (4 with autism, 1 with a sensory processing disorder) were the focus of the intervention study described in this research report. The interventions with each child were conducted over 4 or 5 days in the children's homes and involved…

Findings from a study investigating the effects of early intervention settings on the extent of parent involvement in IDEA Part C Infant and Toddler Programs are reported. Participants were 124 parents and other primary caregivers of children receiving early intervention in 22 states who completed an investigator-developed scale measuring…

Findings from two studies investigating the effects of a socially interactive robot on the vocalization production of young children with disabilities are reported. The two studies included seven children with autism, two children with Down syndrome, and two children with attention deficit disorders. The Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA)…

A number of different types of socially interactive robots are being used as part of interventions with young children with disabilities to promote their joint attention and language skills. Parents' judgments of two dimensions (acceptance and importance) of the social validity of four different social robots were the focus of the study described…

The extent to which the influences of family-systems intervention practices could be traced to variations in parent-child interactions and child development was investigated by meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM). MASEM is a procedure for producing a weighted pooled correlation matrix and fitting a structural equation model to the…

The influences of child participation in interest-based learning activities on the development of 17 preschoolers with autism was the focus of this brief report. The children's mothers identified their children's interests and the everyday family and community activities that provided opportunities for interest-based learning. Parents then…

This monograph includes the final report for a project funded by the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council for "Measuring Outcomes for Children" (2008 RFP). The goal of the project was to "develop and demonstrate the effectiveness of an instrument designed to measure life outcomes of children with disabilities being…

The effectiveness of three types of in-service training designed to improve early intervention practitioners' abilities to use family-systems intervention practices was evaluated in the study of 473 participants. Participants attended either conference presentations or one of two types of workshops (half day/full day or multi-day), or received one…