Parents (N=229) of young children with handicaps in 10 states evaluated the Family Needs Survey, one instrument sometimes used to develop Individualized Family Service Plans. Overall, parents felt the survey to be useful in communicating useful information to professionals. The survey was equally acceptable to minority and low income parents.…

Judgment based assessment (JBA) allows the collection and quantification of the perceptions and impressions of individuals appraising a child's status and environment. This article addresses the purposes, features, and appropriate uses of JBA of young children with disabilities. Current research relevant to JBA is discussed. (Author/DB)

The paper provides an organizational framework for communication-based interventions with infants, toddlers, and their families. The paper describes early intervention approaches including remediation, prevention, and compensation, and offers guidelines for selecting the appropriate programmatic approach and determining the model for service…

The relationship between young children's social competence and the goals of early intervention programs is explored, focusing on the significance of peer-related social competence, the development of peer social competence skills in young handicapped children, the nature of assessment and intervention strategies, and the importance of the social…

The empirical support for three theoretical approaches to infant intervention is reviewed, including direct intervention via nonsocial means, direct intervention via social means, and indirect infant intervention via social support to the family. For each approach, underlying theoretical assumptions are identified, and for each assumption,…

This paper describes the development and application of individualized intervention procedures in a classroom for preschool language-impaired children. Language development principles utilized in the program focus on determining the setting, timing, interactive participants, purpose, and content. Resulting changes in language comprehension and…

Describes a program designed to help families care for their medically fragile infants and children in their homes, thus preventing the need for protective services involvement. (PCB)

Describes the Bancroft Early Intervention/Parent Project of Spokane County, Washington. This project was designed to help refugee parents of children enrolled in Head Start learn English, adapt to U.S. culture, and become self-sufficient. (RJC)

This article describes the Preconceptional Intervention Program, a model used among women in 12 Florida counties who are at high risk for low birth-weight delivery. Preconceptional intervention identifies high risk women, provides educational programs, and provides adequate preconceptional and prenatal medical care. (IAH)

This article adapts change procedures designed by organization theorists within the field of business and applies them to the challenge facing early intervention programs in light of the requirements of Public Law 99-457. A five-step plan for change which includes the factor of resistance to change is discussed. (DB)

Introduces a special section forecasting problems, delineating issues, and proferring strategies that should prove helpful as early childhood policies and programs are crafted. Today's programs are grounded in research that verifies the efficacy of early intervention, particularly for low-income children. School restructuring will play an…

Restructuring is this era's main contribution to improving America's schools. Teachers, parents, and communities must become more involved in school decision-making, and children need more choice in curricular decisions. Ten "commandments" for successful early childhood collaborations are presented. Care and education are inseparable.…

The article reviews the literature on the effectiveness of early stimulation programs to prevent intellectual or social retardation. It summarizes findings and recommends continued use and development of early stimulation as a primary prevention strategy. Also stressed is early identification of preschoolers with potential or apparent…

This article reviews the legislative history of Public Law 99-457, the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1986, which created a new program of early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities. The unique features of Part H are considered in the context of current uncertainty about its future. (Author/DB)

Because many special-needs infants are at risk for delayed or maladaptive feeding skills and malnutrition, the Nutrition and Feeding Risk Identification Tool was developed using a family-centered, community-based, coordinated approach to screening and assessment of nutrition and feeding concerns of families. The measure's development,…