Seventeen children (ages 8-10) with hearing loss were tested on four types of tasks (speech perception, phonetic awareness, recall of word strings, and comprehension of sentences with complex syntax) and results were compared to controls. Subjects showed evidence of restricted access to acoustic information in the speech signal. (Contains…

Subjects at risk for specific learning disabilities were assessed on standardized measures throughout elementary and middle school, following an intervention based on task analysis of kindergarten curricula and team teaching. All results were significant for the treatment group in relation to an at-risk cohort. (Author/DB)

The paper outlines risk factors for the development of both communication disorders and emotional/behavioral disorders in young children, outlines communication assessment considerations, offers a transactional approach to early intervention which emphasizes the interplay between young children and their caregiving environments, describes…

A total of 125 7-year-old students who were poor readers were assigned to 1 of 4 experimental teaching conditions: reading with phonology, reading alone, phonology alone, or a control. Although the phonology alone group showed the most improvement on phonological tasks, the reading with phonology group made the most progress in reading…

A review of laboratory research estimating effects of mild hearing impairment on infant speech perception abilities, under conditions simulating mild hearing loss in normal hearing infants, suggests that even mild alterations of auditory input during infancy may have significant developmental consequences. Results support identification,…

Follow-up at age 9 of 141 children who had participated in either a mediated learning (ML) or direct instruction (DI) early intervention program found no main-effect differences between the 2 groups. Several significant aptitude-by-treatment interactions were found, with initially higher performing children gaining more from DI and initially lower…

Notes that with recent funding cuts, old attacks on the value of the Head Start program reemerge. Discusses the longest running and most infamous of these criticisms, called the fade-out effect, which argues that gains made by Head Start students through early intervention are lost by the time they reach third grade. (TJQ)

Reviews research and theory on the subpopulation of learning disabled children receiving special education services. Reviews developmental concepts as they apply to early intervention for learning disabled children, and theoretical bases for early intervention. Issues of assessment and service delivery are also reviewed. (HTH)

This article proposes that combining home visits with service coordination could be an effective method of determining what services are needed by families of young children with disabilities and at the same time providing intervention in the home setting. Competencies needed for this dual position of service coordinator and home visitor are…

The effectiveness of a home-based enrichment program was assessed using 30 matched pairs of experimental and control group 5-year-olds from poor black South African families. The enrichment provided experimental families with educational materials thought suitable for the promotion of school readiness. Although results indicated some positive…

Provides discussions of understanding violence in children's lives (Levin); helping children exposed to violence (Jackson); the role of day care centers in helping children cope with violence (Groves and Mazur); the influence of Power Rangers (Levin); creating a culture of nonviolence (Carter); listening to children to understand violence (Hopkins…

This brief article responds to a previous article on guidelines developed by professional associations for developmentally appropriate early childhood special education practices. The importance of individualization in the application of practices is emphasized, and sample criteria are offered for evaluating the practices. (DB)

Explores adolescent violence in American society and offers solutions. Some problems can be resolved only through massive social change. Behavioral factors, however, may respond to targeted public health intervention strategies. Health care providers could be an early warning network, offering early intervention. (SLD)

Finds that children at-risk for reading disability who received a median of 58 one-to-one tutoring sessions during first grade showed superior word recognition in isolation and in context, superior reading speed, and improved comprehension compared to well-matched controls at completion of tutoring, at the end of first grade, and at third grade.…

A nationwide survey examined the attitudes and opinions of 203 professionals regarding parent-professional involvement in the planning and implementation of goals and services for hearing-impaired infants and toddlers and their families, as required under Public Law 99-457, the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments (1986). Respondents…