Due to the diverse needs of young children at risk for or with developmental delays/ disabilities and their families, an interdisciplinary and collaborative team is required in schools to deliver family-centered, individualized early intervention/early childhood special education (EI/ECSE) services (Division for Early Childhood of the Council for…

The Comprehensive Developmental Teams (CDT) program, a multidisciplinary approach to improving Head Start services to handicapped children is described. Reviewed are the team's tasks--to identify, screen, and assess the children's strengths and weaknesses in order to develop comprehensive programs of intervention, including provision of individual…

This paper examines factors possibly responsible for the poor outcomes of many children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and suggests possible ways of improving services to this population. It is concluded that each of the etiological factors identified for ADHD has its own characteristics, driven by genetic vulnerabilities and…

This guide assists in establishing a collaborative unit or a task group to deliver services to children and youth with serious emotional disabilities and their families. The guide is not intended to be an exhaustive manual, but does address the primary activities of professionals using interagency collaboration to establish comprehensive systems…

Using a collaborative approach in three York County (Maine) school districts, representatives from special education and vocational rehabilitation implemented a model program of transition services for specific learning-disabled (SLD) individuals, aged 16 to 22 years old. The experimental group consisted of 32 SLD individuals and the control group…

An adaptable transdisciplinary decision-making model for service delivery to students with severe handicaps is described. Nine steps include collecting information, reviewing records, classroom skills inventory, initial goal selection, in situ evaluation, clinical evaluation, testing treatment hypotheses, establishing long-term objectives, and the…

A cooperative program between the Department of Pediatrics at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and a special education program for developmentally disabled infants and children (birth through age 3) has provided 12 pediatric residents with a four-session training program. The residents were members of an interdisciplinary team…

Twenty-one families participated as members of experimental or control groups in a study which investigated the effects of family-oriented intervention on the stress level of families with young handicapped children (average age 2 years) whose impairments were primarily developmental delay or cerebral palsy. Parents completed the Parenting Stress…

This paper provides guidelines for conducting a functional behavioral assessment and developing positive behavior intervention plans with students who have behavior disorders or other disabilities in the context of requirements of the 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). After an introduction, rights and…

This paper provides guidelines for conducting a functional behavioral assessment and developing positive behavior intervention plans with students who have behavior disorders or other disabilities in the context of requirements of the 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). After an introduction, rights and…

Effects of family-oriented early intervention on the home environment were explored in a 6-month study of 23 handicapped children (ages birth to 5) and their families, who participated as members of an experimental or control group. The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory was administered to evaluate differences in…

This study was designed to improve teachers' abilities to respond effectively to 8 students with emotional and behavior disorders (EBD) in a self-contained class in a public middle school through the implementation of individualized treatment plans (ITPs), a form of individualized behavior plans. ITPs are intended to stimulate staff to think…

This practicum project sought to improve the care of students with cognitive dysfunction through more effective interdisciplinary collaboration of mental health and education professionals. The project's objectives included increasing child psychiatric residents' knowledge of educational programs, and having consultation reports indicate inclusion…