In this article, we review the literature on siblings of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) from a lifespan developmental perspective, from infancy through adulthood, focusing on the sibling relationship and sibling well-being. We situate this review within the larger body of research on siblings of individuals with developmental…

Predictors of prenatal and postnatal parenting efficacy were examined in a sample of 115 primiparous mothers and 73 fathers in an effort to examine the association between preexisting parental characteristics and prenatal efficacy and the association between prenatal characteristics and postnatal efficacy when aspects of the current parenting…

This new Iowa Kids Count data book, "Iowa Kids Count 2008: Trends in the Well-Being of Iowa Children," is the latest annually produced book containing data on 18 different indicators of child and family well-being for the United States, Iowa and its 99 counties. The 18 indicators provide a wealth of health, education, welfare and…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the Vermont State Project for Children and Youth with Deaf-Blindness, a 3-year federally supported project to provide statewide services, training, and technical assistance to Vermont children (birth to age 21) with deaf-blindness, their families, and service providers. Throughout the…

This paper examines the needs of adolescent mothers and their infants and describes innovative programs designed to meet those needs. It discusses characteristics of adolescent mothers, including their educational level, their obstetric performance, their parenting practices, and the socioeconomic consequences of early parenthood. The paper then…

This study examined the prelinguistic communicative behaviors of 48 young Israeli children with hearing impairments (ages 8 months to 49 months). Most subjects were severely hearing impaired. Ninety percent were born to hearing parents. A parent questionnaire utilizing a direct observation methodology in six situational contexts was selected,…

This report presents information on infants and toddlers with disabilities and special health care needs enrolled in Washington State early intervention services. Enrollment numbers, rates, and patterns are discussed. Out of a total of 264,410 children ages 36 months and under, 4,324 were enrolled in an early intervention service plan as of…

The Healthy Start Initiative is a national five-year demonstration program that uses a broad range of community-driven, system development approaches to reduce infant mortality and improve the health and well-being of women, infants, children, and families. This volume, third in the series, deals with the topic of sustainability, which refers to…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of Project STEPS (Sequenced Transition to Education in the Public Schools), a 3-year outreach project designed to provide training and technical assistance (TA) related to the development of statewide transition systems for children with disabilities, birth through 5 years of age, and…

This final report describes accomplishments and activities of the 3-year Activating Children Through Technology (ACTT) Outreach program at Western Illinois University, which focused on the integration of assistive technology into early childhood services for children (ages birth to 8) with disabilities. Objectives included: awareness activities;…

This report documents the activities and outcomes of the 5-year model demonstration project AHEAD (At Home and At Day Care), a Utah program that is designed to deliver services to infants, toddlers, and young children (ages birth-3) with noncategorical disabilities. The program delivers services to the children and their caregivers in their…

This final report discusses the outcomes of the federally funded Infant Care Project (ICP) that provided comprehensive and continuous services to 99 women who had used cocaine during pregnancy and their infants. The ICP model combined high risk obstetric care, infant and child development services, and substance abuse services on site in the…

This study examined the relationship between Indian women's work and breastfeeding, focusing on the constraints imposed by combining work with breastfeeding, the strategies women used, and the support they received. A non-probability convenience sample of 969 mothers of infants 1 year or younger (34 percent from rural areas) was used. Four areas…

Parenting an adopted child is, for the most part, the same as parenting any other child, but is different in some unique and critical ways related to the child's separation from birth parents and genetic roots. Understanding how a child interprets, understands, and feels about adoption, and why, can help the parent guide the adopted child…

The Texas Interagency Council on Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) serves 23,000 children a year and funds 71 comprehensive programs and 12 Milestones programs throughout Texas. Comprehensive programs offer a variety of services to help families who have babies and toddlers with disabilities or delays, providing services in the home or integrated…