During small group instruction, two groups of children--each group comprised of one child with a disability and two without disabilities--were taught to read words using a progressive time delay procedure (PTD). Apart from the children with disabilities, two typically developing peers in each group were taught to comment on tokens given for…

Imitation is a primary means through which children learn new skills. Most children learn to imitate without being taught but some children with disabilities fail to develop or use imitation in the absence of direct instruction. The importance of teaching imitation to children with disabilities has been acknowledged, with studies appearing as…

Many studies have shown that small-group direct instruction is effective and efficient for teaching students with and without disabilities, although relatively few studies have been conducted with heterogeneous groups of preschool participants. In addition, previous studies have primarily assessed whether observational learning occurred for…

Adequate street crossing skills reduce the risk of injury and increase the functional independence of individuals with disabilities. This paper reviews research involving instructional interventions for street crossings with individuals with disabilities. Eight studies were included. There was evidence individuals could be taught street crossings…

Research was reviewed on small-group instruction for learners with disabilities. The review was conducted for articles published between 1990 and 2010 on the application of small-group direct instruction to teach discrete skills using prompting procedures. A total of 47 articles with 197 participants and 687 replications of effects was located.…

The authors describe an intervention for 3 preschoolers with disabilities who had low peer-related social competence. The intervention taught academic skills tailored to the need of each target student in small groups (triads) with two typically developing peers, using a progressive time delay procedure. Prior to instruction and separate from the…

This article focuses on early childhood classrooms in which young children with disabilities are enrolled, ideally inclusive classrooms. A foundational assumption about which most early intervention professionals would agree is that young children with disabilities learn from: (1) their experiences (interactions) with their physical environments…

A multiple probe design was used to examine the relation between teachers' use of the system of least prompts, contingent imitation, and praise, and the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of pretend play by 4 children with disabilities. The teachers' use of the intervention package was functionally related to increases in the children's…

In this article, the authors focus on issues of instruction in classrooms. Initially, a brief definitional and historic section is presented. This is followed by a discussion of four assumptions about the current state of affairs: (a) evidence-based practices should be identified and used, (b) children's phase of performance should dictate…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using a constant time delay procedure to teach foundational swimming skills to three children with autism. The skills included flutter kick, front-crawl arm strokes, and head turns to the side. A multiple-probe design across behaviors and replicated across participants was used.…

The purpose of this study was to analyze literature regarding interventions for promoting pretend play in children with disabilities. Sixteen studies were found using experimental designs to evaluate pretend play interventions with children with disabilities. The results were analyzed across the targeted pretense behaviors, participants,…

Investigated whether early childhood classroom activities and areas differed between mainstreamed and nonmainstreamed classrooms, and assessed difficulty of adapting them for disabled children. Respondents reported wide range of activities and areas that were moderately easy to adapt for disabled children. Findings suggest mainstreaming does not…

The paper describes the arena assessment approach, an extension of the transdisciplinary team model, into assessment activities and presents social validation data on the traditional interdisciplinary team approach and the arena approach. Parents and staff who participated on both approaches rated the arena model equal to or higher than the…

The Proportional Change Index (PCI), a numerical statement of the relationship between children's rate of development during intervention with the rate of development at the time intervention began, is proposed as a way of expressing child progress from developmental data. (Author/CL)

The written testimony of the authors before the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education in April, 2002, identifies five areas of needed effort in early childhood special education research: (1) early identification and eligibility; (2) services; (3) outcomes; (4) infrastructure; and (5) the research funding process. Specific…