This paper addresses the conditions of families in Ankara, Turkey, who live in gecekondus (hastily built homes of the poor). The socioeconomic and educational disadvantages of these families result in continuous academic underachievement for their children. Ecological and educational interventions for breaking the poverty cycle are proposed.…

This implementation plan for educational programs for young handicapped children was developed in response to the request of the North Carolina General Assembly and involved a survey of the state's 100 counties (of which 75 responded). Information is presented for the following areas: philosophy of serving young children with handicapping…

The Preparation of Special Educators in Essential Early Education program was a 36-credit hour preservice program of the University of Vermont to train Early Childhood Special Educators at the Master's Degree or Certificate of Advanced Study levels. The program prepared students to demonstrate the necessary competencies for providing quality…

This final report describes Project Dakota, an early intervention demonstration project serving newborns to preschoolers with developmental delay or disability in Dakota County, Minnesota, from 1983 to 1986. The first chapter describes the project model (which focuses on increasing the effectiveness of parents in fostering the child's development)…

The plight of African American males has become a problem of alarming proportions in the United States. This paper reports serious disadvantage and risk for this group in terms of education, employment, poverty levels, family disintegration, criminal status, health, and death rates. The paper contends that the crisis for African American males…

This report is a case study on the process of developing interagency collaboration on behalf of emotionally handicapped children and their families. Based on a process evaluation conducted for the Multnomah (Portland, Oregon) Board of County Commissioners, the case study examines a therapeutic case advocacy project which sought to promote greater…

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…

The problem of illiteracy is intergenerational. Many parents lack the skills, knowledge, and awareness needed to support their children's educational development. Our educational system must be changed so that it places equal priority on education for the child and on academic remediation for the parent. Family intervention programs do not address…

This paper describes a rural Hispanic community's efforts to identify and develop a program for gifted students in grades 2-6 who are also mildly to moderately handicapped (learning disabled, behavior disordered, or communication disordered). The "Twice Exceptional" (2E) program, in Los Lunas, New Mexico, is a modified full-time separate…

An Illinois elementary school district concerned about unnecessary referrals for possible special education designed and piloted a regular education assistance team system which brought about greater regular teacher collaboration and increased accuracy in referral for case study evaluation. The building level teams consisted of regular education…

The program entitled Prevention of Learning Disabilities: An Interdisciplinary Model, developed and operated by the Learning Disorders Unit of New York University Medical Center, has three elements: scanning, diagnosis, and intervention. Educational intervention is done primarily by Board of Education teachers and educational assistants under the…

A Florida State Department of Education technical assistance paper on expulsion of handicapped students is presented. Contents are as follows: historical information on court decisions, issues questions and answers, brief summaries of seven court cases dealing with expulsion of handicapped students, and sample materials from three local school…

Findings from a synthesis of 27 intervention studies that examined the effects of school-based reading interventions for kindergarten students at-risk for reading difficulties are reported. Results indicated that reading interventions were effective for improving reading outcomes for kindergarten students with disabilities and those at-risk for…

A survey was conducted to determine states' progress towards developing a definition for developmentally delayed infants and toddlers as required by Public Law 99-457, Part H. Results of the survey, conducted in the summer of 1988, indicated that many states had made a great deal of progress toward developing a policy regarding the definition of…

The paper reports on efforts of the Thakur Hari Prasad Institute (THPI), an Indian voluntary agency, to improve services to persons with mental retardation in the developing nation of India. THPI is involved in both institutional and non-institutional activities, development of national policy, and action research. One project has provided early…