This study describes the development and evaluation of a behavioral parent training protocol via telecommunication for three parents of preschool children with autism, with limited access to behavioral expertise. A single-subject, multiple baseline experimental design across child behaviors, replicated across parents, was used to evaluate the…

Federal attention is focused currently on investing and improving the quality of early childhood education, so that children's potential and talent development can be used as a natural resource for the future of our country. This article engages readers in transitioning their thinking about early childhood gifted education from a traditional…

A program was developed to increase teachers' and caregivers' understanding of the characteristics of young gifted children, and to provide an overview of brain development and function. The program used a variety of techniques, including yoga, guided visualization, creativity and flexible thinking skills, story writing, and kinesiology, to…

The two purposes of this paper are to provide the uninitiated reader with a skeletal overview of Piaget's cognitive development theory and to identify general educational implications, especially for the development of early childhood industrial arts (ECIA) programs. The "Piaget Primer" for ECIA educators overviews such topics as (1) the…

Examines role of play and experiential learning in early childhood education. Summarizes educational experiments and research projects on outdoor experiential play for enhancing adventuresomeness, self challenge, cognitive development, and socialization of young children. Suggests need for traditional and experiential educators to develop…

This manual describes the benefits and procedures for implementing a developmental play program. It is intended to be used by both the leader--a counselor, teacher, or other professional--and students who have been trained in the peer facilitator skills. The manual does not include a detailed training program for peer facilitators, but the nature…

Starting Early Starting Smart (SESS) is an early childhood public/private initiative designed to identify new, empirical knowledge about the effectiveness of integrating substance abuse prevention, addictions treatment, and mental health services with primary health care and childcare service settings (e.g., Head Start, day care, preschool) to…

This report surveys writings by National Institute of Mental Health grant recipients who have investigated this first five years of life. The authors attempted to identify and correlate ideas, themes, perspectives and issues which can be useful in the formulation and evaluation of social policies related to infant and child development. Major…

This document describes a set of indicators that the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) Task Force on Recommended Practices recommends for early intervention and early childhood special education (EI/ECSE) programs for infants and young children with special needs and their families. The indicators are designed to be used by professionals in…