Claims that for home and school to cooperate on behalf of students, they must share a similar vision. Presents the concept of "critical literacy" to provide this vision. Recommends establishment of standards that clarify literacy outcomes, creation of a developmental perspective for monitoring students' progress, implementation of…

Evaluated an Even Start project in Maryland, using results from the National Evaluation of the Even Start Family Literacy Program for comparison. Found that participants significantly improved in their literacy skills, and that children of parents in the project were much more likely to be exposed to literacy activities such as library visits.…

The phonemic awareness of 100 children in the second semester of kindergarten was evaluated through analysis of their invented spelling patterns. A taxonomy of 10 invented spelling patterns and 21 response types was developed. A developmental ordering of spelling patterns is proposed and relationships among phonological awareness, spelling, and…

Describes a reading intervention program that combined a modified enrichment program with cross-age tutoring and that resulted in significant gains in reading for both students and tutors. (SR)

The Baudhuin Preschool of Nova Southeastern University (Florida) provides a four-tiered program for children with autism and related disorders. Each tier represents a continuum of services, strategies, and environments from most restrictive to inclusion. Each child's program combines systematic instructional techniques based on principles of…

This study explored effects of training 25 mothers to administer focused intervention to teach specific target words to their toddlers with expressive vocabulary delays. Following treatment, mothers' language input was slower, less complex, and more focused. The children used more target words, more words during play, and had larger vocabularies…

Two studies examined language intervention practices in preschool classrooms that included children with disabilities. Both a descriptive study involving 59 children and a process-product study involving 62 children found that children more frequently exposed to recommended language practices made greater language gains and demonstrated higher…

The Rural Early Intervention Training Project in Oregon is designed to meet the need for rural early intervention personnel. The program reflects a focus on technical skills, critical thinking, and reflective practice. University professors travel to a designated rural community to conduct coursework each month, and a practicum supervisor observes…

This article describes coinstruction by faculty and parents of young children with disabilities in preservice training of early intervention personnel. Goals for coinstruction and implementation issues such as recruitment and selection of parents, preparation for coinstruction roles, student evaluation in coinstruction settings, and diversity…

Examined the relationships between parental stress and the security of attachment relationships. Subjects were 33 mothers of children who were attending a preschool program for high-risk families. Found a negative relationship between the Child Domain section of the Parenting Stress Index and Attachment Q-set scores. Results highlighted the need…

Questionnaire and interview results from 24 teachers of preschool children enrolled in both an early childhood special education program and another early childhood program, such as day care, indicated recognition of the need for staff communication across programs but great variation in the actual intensity and nature of such communication in…

This study assessed the integrity with which social skills interventions were implemented in 16 early childhood special education classrooms. Positive correlations between intervention integrity and both overall amount of intervention provided and child outcomes were found. Teacher ratings of intervention acceptability were weak predictors of…

This keynote address at the 1995 International Division for Early Childhood Conference on Children with Special Needs focuses on the need for early childhood education and society in general to: embrace principles of diversity, put into practice what has been learned from research, foster family-focused programs, encourage inclusiveness in…

Describes a private, early (birth to four) therapeutic intervention center in Italy that provides short-term intensive treatment to children with severe visual impairments and possible additional disabilities. The residential program emphasizes maximum use of residual vision, vision stimulation and training, psychological counseling for parents,…

This study examined the multicultural practice perspectives of 170 early interventionists serving African-American children and families in relation to requirements of Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Survey results indicated that respondents were positive about the multicultural nature of their individual and agency…