Describes South Carolina's new state early childhood program, First Steps to School Readiness. Includes a profile of the state's at-risk child population, noting poverty and education risk indicators, and describing key program components. The article discusses program oversight, local program partnerships, program funding mechanisms, and local…

Discusses how preschool helps children develop pre-mathematics, social, and language skills as well as confidence. Claims low-income children have the greatest need for high-quality early care to overcome the disadvantages of poverty, and argues that high-quality child care prevents later costs for special education, welfare, or job training…

Describes program in the Central School District in Rancho Cucamonga, California, that focuses on improving the phonemic awareness skills of special-needs K-2 students through the intervention of regular classroom teachers trained to diagnose and remediate phonemic weaknesses. (Contains 11 references.)

Looks at reading difficulties among multilingual children for whom English is a non-dominant language and the first script they have been exposed to. Finds that phonological intervention was particularly effective for children with the lowest single-word reading scores. Suggests that the intervention helped to catalyze the fine-tuning of the…

Los Angeles children who attend the 8-week summer day camp spend 2 hours a day learning how to read. The rest of the time is spent playing sports, doing art activities, and taking field trips. The program is replicated in other school districts. (MLF)

The Early Intervention Program of the Department of Behavioral Psychology at the Kennedy Institute and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is a demonstration, research, and training program focused on the primary and secondary prevention of serious childhood behavior problems. Four assessment and intervention protocols are described…

Describes an early intervention program in an economically depressed area of the Dominican Republic. The main goal of the program was to empower mothers to become facilitators of their preschool children's development. (PCB)

This study, involving two three-year-olds with mild mental retardation, found that milieu language intervention can directly enhance the acquisition and generative use of lexical and semantic forms used for varied pragmatic functions and that adult systematic commenting and child spontaneous imitation may interact to facilitate the teaching…

Studied how early treatment affected the development of a sample of 30 Down syndrome babies incorporated into the study at different ages. Found that development quotients descended significantly at 18 months of age as the period in treatment shortened. (AJH)

Analyzes observational research in traditional remedial classrooms and published Reading Recovery procedures to formulate 15 guidelines for evaluating and improving any remedial reading program. Discusses the extent to which traditional remedial programs and Reading Recovery programs follow exemplary teaching practices known to be associated with…

This paper introduces a special issue focusing on the treatment of preschool and school-age children who stutter and discussing current intervention strategies and procedures. Summaries of the issue's articles are presented, generally contending that fluency disorders can be effectively managed using age-appropriate, individualized techniques and…

Analyzes studies published in the 1980s that used psychosocial interventions for preschoolers exhibiting behavioral and emotional difficulties. Finds that social modeling and teaching parents behavioral principles show promise as effective interventions. Suggests that parental involvement is important in successful interventions and that school…

New techniques have opened windows to the brain. Although the biochemistry of learning remains largely a mystery, the following findings seem to have clear implications for education: (1) the importance of early-learning opportunities for the very young; (2) the connection between music and abstract reasoning; and (3) the importance of good…

Offers an example of the Family Strengths Model, a new approach to providing family-focused child development programs. A classroom teacher, a program director, and a family services coordinator provide a summary of the skills and knowledge that are necessary for effective intervention on the part of each early childhood professional. (TJQ)

This commentary responds to an article by Rebecca McCathren and others on using directives in early language intervention. It suggests that the primary effect of follow-in directives may be to set the tone of the interaction. Factors that affect the relationship between responsiveness and directiveness are addressed, including sequencing, rhythm,…