Interviews with 15 Kentucky professionals providing assistive technology (AT) services for young children with disabilities found contradictions, including frequent espousal of teaming as important in service delivery but less frequent implementation; family members not seen as important members of teams, but client goals rated as extremely…

A survey of 69 women at risk for carrying a fetus with a disability found most would choose to terminate a pregnancy that tested positive for a disability regardless of type of disability (either Down syndrome or spina bifida). The decision was not related to knowledge about disabilities but was negatively related to knowledge of…

Reviews the research on medical sequelae of child sexual abuse; identifies unanswered questions; and suggests areas of research, including prospective studies of child sexual abuse, follow-up of victims, studies of nonclinic populations, studies of male victims, examination of additional variables (such as regional variation and age), diseases…

Students and teachers benefit from emphasizing literacy and professional development, not technology itself. Districts must also put learning first, build support, consider alternative delivery systems, provide adequate resources, use assessments to steer programs, shed the ineffectual, remember past lessons, heed research, and ask good questions.…

This commentary identifies contributing influences and current issues that may be common across countries and defines potential elements of a universal manifesto on early intervention, including: recognition of individual differences, personalized interventions, involvement of families, support of families, comprehensive assessment, and provision…

This article discusses ways service providers can enhance their working relationships with families of children with special needs. It offers practical guidelines to service providers when selecting materials they plan to use and share with children and their families, such as curriculum packages, information packets, brochures, CD-ROMS,…

This article uses recent developments in United Kingdom services as a case study to identify challenges facing the provision of residential supports to people with intellectual disabilities. It discusses responding to existing levels of unmet needs and increasing demand, reducing inequalities in access and service quality, and obtaining and…

A study of 27 employees of an agency that provides services to persons with developmental disabilities investigated using the six-item Guttman scale, based on the Levels of Use framework, for monitoring the adoption and implementation of person-centered planning and other supports-oriented programs. High scores indicated likelihood of…

This commentary reviews previous articles that discuss major educational approaches for young children with autism from the perspective of a parent with a child with autism. Considerations for parents in selecting an intervention and the need for more intervention information and resources for parents are addressed. (CR)

This article addresses the need to refocus the view of the natural environment as a family-chosen placement for early intervention services. Psycho-ecological theories are used to broaden the conception of the natural environment and illuminate possibilities for early intervention that utilize community and home resources while respecting family…

This second part of an analysis of scientific and technical information (STI) services in Australia considers their development in the context of discipline formation in information management. The case studies used are the STI services from Part I. A case study protocol is used to consider the extent to which the development of the services may…

Purpose: The Dementia Care Networks' Study examined the effectiveness of four community-based, not-for-profit dementia networks. The study involved assessing the relationship between the types of administrative and service-delivery exchanges that occurred among the networked agencies and the network members' perception of the effectiveness of…

This paper considers the functioning of one educational psychology service (EPS) at a particularly troubled point in its existence. A focus on a review of the service and resultant pilot of a new model of service delivery will lead to consideration of how and why this process took place. Implications for the service in particular and the…

Background: Deinstitutionalisation of services for people with intellectual disabilities has become a focus of disability policy in many countries. Research for the most part supports this strategy. However, outcomes are not uniformly better for everyone who moves to community living. This paper explores reasons for variability in service quality…

The process of describing existing services for American Indian and Alaska Native children with serious emotional disturbance by the Circles of Care strategic planning initiative is overviewed. We explain why service system description is important and how it helped define the role of evaluation within the initiative. Primary goals and…