Purpose: In this study, the authors investigated sentence comprehension and spatial working memory abilities in a sample of internationally adopted, postinstitutionalized (PI) children. The authors compared the performance of these PI children with that of an age-matched group of children living with their birth families. They hypothesized that PI…

Background: This study evaluates the effects of a language and literacy intervention for children with Down syndrome. Methods: Teaching assistants (TAs) were trained to deliver a reading and language intervention to children in individual daily 40-min sessions. We used a waiting list control design, in which half the sample received the…

Early intervention programs are developed on the premise that parents or primary caregivers generalize treatment strategies within naturalistic environments. The diverse characteristics of children within early language intervention reinforce the urgency for services that consider the needs of each child within his or her broader social, cultural,…

The purpose of this paper is to describe a pilot program (i.e., Internet-Based Parent-Implemented Communication Strategies [i-PiCS] program) that provides long-distance training and coaching via the Internet to parents of young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The i-PiCS program is designed to teach parents how to use evidence-based…

Background: There are few evaluations of very early intervention for the prevention of internalising disorders and those that exist generally evaluate outcomes to a maximum of 12 months. The current study evaluated the very long term effects (11 years) of a brief internalising prevention program presented to parents of preschool aged children.…

This longitudinal study explored the rate of language growth of children in an early intervention program providing auditory-verbal therapy. A retrospective investigation, the study applied a linear growth model to estimate a mean growth curve and the extent of individual variation in language performance on the Preschool Language Scale, 4th ed.…

A child's move from early intervention (EI) to special education preschool is considered to be a critical transition point for both the child and family. Family concerns during this process are heightened by changes in service delivery systems. Although much has been written about the transition from EI services, little is known about the parents'…

Research Findings: Interpersonal relationships among staff caregivers, parents, and children have been recommended as essential aspects of early childhood intervention. This study explored the associations of these relationships with program outcomes for children and parents in 3 Early Head Start programs. A total of 71 children (8-35 months,…

Early intervention services to young children with developmental delays in China have experienced significant growth since 1978, the beginning of the period of Reform and Opening. This article described the present situation of early intervention practices in mainland China, framed around the key components and guiding principles of Guralnick's…

Early intervention (EI) for children with physical disabilities is advocated as a means of enhancing child outcomes and family functioning. The issues confronted by service providers in delivering this support have received relatively little attention. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the experiences of frontline EI staff…

Although phonological awareness (PA) is an essential preliteracy skill with well-established predictive validity for elementary school reading success, previous research indicates that PA intervention does not demonstrate long term effects on reading. The theory of automaticity was the underlying foundation used to understand the importance of…

In 2012-2013, AISD pre-K students demonstrated growth in receptive vocabulary on a nationally-normed test. Students enrolled in multiple programs showed greater growth in receptive vocabulary in their native language than did other pre-K students. [Funding for this report was provided by Title I funds.]

Reading Recovery (RR) is a short-term early intervention designed to help the lowest-achieving readers in first grade reach average levels of classroom performance in literacy. Students identified to receive Reading Recovery meet individually with a specially trained Reading Recovery (RR) teacher every school day for 30-minute lessons over a…

Research Findings: The aim of this longitudinal study was to explore peer relationships across the transition from preschool to school. Participants were 35 (17 male) children attending the Irish preschool initiative Early Start (M age = 49.31 months). Sociometric measures were employed on two occasions: at the end of preschool and in the first…

Much has been written about the use of threat assessment. Schools are encouraged to have threat assessment teams and a threat assessment process as part of a comprehensive safe schools effort. Encouraging and enabling all members of the school community to report possible threats in a timely manner is an essential component of an effective threat…