A naturalistic study of Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) development included an examination of parent-professional relationships. Relationship quality and control issues emerged as significant factors in parent-staff interactions. A model is presented that can be used to monitor progress in implementing family-centered approaches.…

This article examines contextual issues relevant to the application of developmentally appropriate practices to young children with special needs. Appropriate practices recognized by the National Association for the Education of Young Children are compared with those published by the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional…

This study of family perceptions of early intervention services used a written survey (quantitative) completed by 539 parents of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers receiving early intervention services and in-depth, semistructured interviews (qualitative) with 12 parents. It found overwhelming satisfaction with most services, with some concerns…

The article reviews research on the language basis of reading disabilities and draws implications for early identification. The article considers language problems in reading-disabled children, follow-up studies of language-impaired children, and phonological processing and reading disabilities. Implications include the value of preschool…

This article reviews research on training phonological awareness in kindergarten and first grade children and describes research-based intervention and assessment activities applicable to classroom and clinical settings. Intervention applications described include categorization activities, phoneme segmentation, and metalinguistic games. (DB)

Positive findings are presented from three early educational intervention programs designed to prevent mental retardation and improve school readiness and educational progress. Evidence is presented indicating that children of mothers with low intelligence respond most favorably to intensive, systematic early intervention. Six essential types of…

Analysis of focus group discussions, involving 21 family members (having young children with disabilities) and 19 professionals, identified issues associated with families' use of time in the area of needed supports and time as a constraint. Implications are discussed in relation to developing early intervention programs. (DB)

The Case Method of Instruction (CMI) is presented as one alternative method of training early interventionists. The paper discusses the basic principles of CMI, its suitability to preservice and inservice early intervention personnel preparation, variations in extent of use and format, and specific instructional strategies for conducting case…

Six students with developmental delays and low levels of social interaction in preschool settings were followed during kindergarten to assess one-year maintenance effects of a peer-mediated social skills intervention program. Results indicated students continued to interact with peers at higher than baseline levels and were rated as within the…

A survey of 73 Indiana staff members in early intervention found that staff members were more likely to receive professional benefits such as inservice training than personal benefits such as medical insurance. Levels of job satisfaction and job commitment were relatively high. Salary emerged as a primary source of concern, along with promotion…

This paper focuses on the integration of preschool children with moderate to profound disabilities in a day care center. The paper offers a rationale for day care integration, outlines best practice components, and describes a program which merged an early intervention program for children with disabilities with a community-based child care…

This article compares and contrasts provisions for procedural safeguards and due process hearings under 2 sections of Public Law 99-457: Part B, dealing with children ages 3-5, and Part H, dealing with infants and toddlers. Potential problems under Part H are pointed out and suggestions are made for implementing Part H safeguards without conflict.…

This discussion of the role of interagency collaboration in implementation of Part H of Public Law 99-457 focuses on interagency collaboration as a foundation for early intervention services; critical points in establishing a collaborative foundation; cornerstones for building lasting interagency systems; and realities that affect collaboration.…

Observation of 31 teachers and their preschool students with disabilities in 2 contexts (meals and activities) showed that teachers frequently engaged children in communicative interactions, commented on ongoing activities, were highly responsive, and waited for children to respond. Teachers less frequently expanded children's utterances, prompted…

This value-added analysis of the short-term effects of early intervention on 489 preschool children found that children with language impairments or multiple disabilities made developmental gains beyond that predicted by maturation alone in several skill areas, whereas children with speech impairments benefited in the cognitive domain only.…