The Skills Inventory for Teams (SIFT) was developed for early intervention practitioners from a variety of disciplines to help them evaluate their ability to work as part of an early intervention team in identifying and serving young children with disabilities. The Team Member section is designed to help individual team members identify the skills…

This study collected data on 112 disadvantaged preschoolers in central Indiana to determine predictors of preacademic competence at the end of the Head Start year. Parents were interviewed to assess home educational environment, parenting dimensions, and daily stress factors. Teacher ratings of children's behavior, social skills, and competence in…

The purpose of this study was to determine if an intervention program improved gifted girls' attitudes toward mathematics. Forty-eight academically gifted girls in grades 4-7 were selected from an isolated, rural area of the Mid-South. In the pre-test, both experimental and control groups were administered the Mathematics Attitude Inventory (MAI).…

Because the assessment needs of young children and infants with handicaps are often quite different from those of the school-age populations with which child study teams have the most experience, this manual addresses issues relevant to the pre-kindergarten population. Chapter 1 provides an overview of general issues related to preschool…

This book describes the history of the Head Start program. Encouraged by Sargent Shriver, director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, in February, 1965, the Head Start Planning Commission presented a proposal for a program to the Johnson administration, which promoted it as a nationwide program to serve half a million poor children. By the…

This report explores social environmental supports and hazards to emotional, social, and linguistic development in infancy and early childhood. After a discussion of the prevalence and consequences of early language and emotional difficulties, selected studies that examined the effects of social experience on emotional and linguistic growth,…

National Education Goal One, as framed by President Bush and the governors of the 50 states in 1989, declares that by the year 2000, all children in America will start school ready to learn. This sourcebook identifies and provides information about 20 promising comprehensive state and local strategies designed to improve learning readiness among…

This document presents a literature review on effective educational programs for students with severe behavior disorders. The literature review's scope includes definitions of relevant terminology, statistics on prevalence, descriptions of several conceptual models and how they affect perceptions of the etiology of behavior disorders and thus the…

This booklet is geared towards persons with autism of all ages who would benefit from enhancing their communication systems through the use of aided communication. It recognizes the importance of an effective expressive communication system to aid them in expressing thoughts and maintaining some power and control over decisions in their lives.…

This document presents witness testimonies and prepared statements from a Senate hearing held in Atlanta, Georgia to examine the problem of crime among youth and to discuss the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974. In his opening statement, Senator Fowler notes that the reauthorization puts greater…

This set of forms is part of Project STEPS (Sequenced Transition to Education in the Public Schools). They are intended to assist communities develop and use a formalized process for assessing the current status of transition within their community and for interagency planning related to the development of a community-wide transition team. The…

This proceedings contains selected papers from the first International Adventure Therapy Conference. The papers reflect a wide range of ideas about what constitutes adventure therapy and how it should be conducted. Presenting an array of international perspectives, programs, and practices, the papers expand the current literature, which has come…

This document contains selected information consisting of text, data tables, and summaries related to two programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): (1) the Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities, Part H (renamed Part C on July 1, 1998) of IDEA, which covers services to children from birth…

This brief paper offers suggestions for parents and teachers working together to develop meaningful communication skills in deaf multihandicapped children. An intervention program developed by Jan VanDijk is described. This program involves the use of environmental engineering to teach language concepts with materials such as a calendar box with…

Estimates suggest that 20 to 25% of U.S. students change schools each year, and this figure is higher in school districts with a relatively large immigrant population. The guidelines in this technical assistance packet provide strategic suggestions for welcoming newcomers to a school or district, something that has become an essential facet of…