As part of a program to increase the quality and availability of inclusive childcare and early childhood education in Maine, the University of Maine in Orono developed an instrument to assess inclusive child care programs. Eight of the 16 Child Development Services sites in Maine's early intervention system participated in developing and…

Noting that there is a group of young children for whom emotional development does not proceed smoothly, placing the children at risk for poor cognitive, social, and behavioral outcomes, this policy paper paints a portrait of the kinds of young children and families who are in need of preventive, early intervention, or treatment services and…

This brief paper summarizes data from a survey of state coordinators of Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act concerning service coordination to infants and toddlers with disabilities. The survey examined variations in service coordination at the state level including roles of parents, values of key stakeholders, sources of…

Since 1975, the Head Start Program Performance Standards have defined the services that local programs are required to provide to enrolled children and families. With revisions effective in 1998, the Program Performance Standards translate the Head Start vision into quality practices implemented at the local level. This document is comprised of a…

This executive summary of Georgia Reading Excellence Act Demonstration Sites (GA READS) includes the Reading Excellence overview; Georgia's plan and goals; state activities; a timeline; local activities; and a budget. The overview states that the Reading Excellence Act was authorized to carry out the following purposes: teach every child to read…

A growing body of science shows the critical effects of an extreme and sustained stressful environment for children on their developing brain architecture and the expression of genes in later life. Toxic stress can shift the brain into surviving in a way that's more rigid and less adaptive. For example, as a result of biologically altered brain…

Those in the public health field are in a unique position to help promote the mental health of young people and reshape how the nation thinks about and addresses mental health. This brief highlights ways in which such professionals can join in the process of ensuring the impending transformation of the mental health system leads to better outcomes…

This follow-up study explored behavioral self-regulation, private speech and speech-action coordination with 72 preschoolers classified 2 years prior into two groups: those diagnosed as at-risk for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and healthy controls. Children were videotaped as they completed tasks of executive functioning,…

This study examined whether variations in the Developmental Observation Checklist (DC) format influences congruence of scores among both parents and the child's teacher. The DC was varied by adding pictorial illustrations and examples and having three response categories instead of two. Results from 100 sets of participants were evaluated with…

This study investigated the utilization of early intervention services by 102 children (ages 2 to 72 months) and families seen for assessment at a diagnostic clinic in Portland, Maine. Surveys completed by subjects' case managers assessed whether recommended early intervention services were received and reasons why recommended services were not…

This guide by a yoga instructor and mother of a child with Down Syndrome is intended to provide specific instructions on the use of yoga with infants and young children having Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, or learning disabilities. Part 1 contains narratives on the use of yoga including the story of Roberta, the author's daughter, and other case…

A study examined the effectiveness of the Reading Recovery program. Subjects were 60 third-grade students (100% minority students) from the midwest who came from low and middle-to-low socioeconomic status. Half of the students received Reading Recovery in first grade, half did not. Comparison of Iowa Tests of Basic Skills scores indicated no…

This booklet is part of a series of seven booklets designed to introduce aspects of effective reading instruction that should be considered when teaching reading to students with disabilities. It focuses on essential skill building and teaching activities related to developing a child's phonological awareness. The methods described of teaching…

Early Head Start began with 68 programs in 1995 and today, almost 650 programs serve some 55,000 low-income families with infants and toddlers. This two-generation program provides high-quality child and family development services, a focus on staff development, and a commitment to community partnerships. A rigorous national evaluation, including…

This report describes research and development activities concerned with developing a set of tools for planning interventions for individual children, birth to age 8. It is part of a 5-year project to develop a comprehensive system of assessment within a decision-making framework for programs serving children with and without disabilities, birth…