This article focuses on integration of children with and without disabilities during the early childhood years, with specific attention devoted to the notion of how predictors of high-quality programs become integrated into service delivery systems. Indicators of program quality from general education, early childhood education, and early…

Discusses the adult illiteracy problem in the United States. Describes the Reading Recovery Program and a similar reading program at Georgia Southwestern College which place teacher education students with first graders to serve as reading pals. (MG)

This article describes the Language Interaction Intervention Program (LIIP) used in preschool classes for handicapped children in central New Jersey. Covered are the LIIP curriculum rationale, the LIIP model, the original evaluation study, and a replication study showing the program was effectively replicated with mothers appropriately changing…

Special education administrators (n=36) in Utah were surveyed concerning use of prereferral intervention with students having learning difficulties. Administrators were uncertain whether the approaches maintained students in general education. They did believe, however, that the process is followed by teachers and results in fewer referrals for…

This paper highlights the need for effective social skills interventions for preschool children with disabilities, reviews available intervention procedures and packages, discusses factors affecting the impact of social skills interventions in early childhood special education, and reviews research efforts to increase the impact of these…

Compared low-birthweight infants who participated in an intervention involving educational and family support services during the first three years of life with low-birthweight infants who received pediatric follow-up. Intervention group infants scored higher on cognitive tests and lower on measures of behavior problems at 24 and 36 months than…

This paper discusses early intervention issues that all members of the early intervention team should become familiar with, including epidemiology; who should provide intervention services; and the importance of early identification and caregiver involvement for the efficacy of intervention services. (JDD)

This article presents the policy option of public school-based child care in a broad context. Four questions are addressed: Why has the issue been raised? Who might be served? What types of programs might be offered? Where might they be housed? (IAH)

This article provides a historical review of public school programs for four-year-olds during the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. Topics include social, political, and educational influences on four-year-old enrollment; types of programs; and factors which led to the exclusion of four year olds from public schools. (IAH)

The transition of children between the two programs of Public Law 99-457, serving children aged birth through two and age three through five, can impact on state administration and local agency administration of the programs. Recommendations are provided for facilitating the family's and child's transition and ensuring continuity in services.…

Mothers (N=503) of young handicapped children identified types of family intervention services currently received and needed. Results indicated that the most commonly available services involved providing information to parents about their children and helping parents participate in the early intervention system. Resource assistance and…

The article describes characteristics of gifted students who also have learning disabilities, and offers guidelines for assessment, early intervention, placement, and intervention strategies geared to the specific disabilities. (DB)

Senator Kassebaum introduces the Head Start Quality Improvement Act which aims at building on the success of Head Start by connecting an increased budget with measures designed to improve program quality. The five-pronged approach of the legislation also mandates increased program accountability through performance measures. (SLD)

Reviews the monograph "Predicting and Preventing Early School Failure: Classroom Activities for the Preschool Child" by Marvin L. Simner. The book contains helpful practical activities and information about resources and intervention methods. It describes only one test, lacks adequate discussion of second language learners, language problems, and…

Interview with three Ohio directors of Reading Recovery, an intervention that accelerates the literacy acquisition of low-achieving first-grade readers. Discusses the dramatic growth of the program since its pilot year, 1984-85; how Reading Recovery differs from traditional remedial reading programs; the program's theoretical underpinnings and…