This guide was developed to assist families and service providers in Connecticut with the development of Individualized Family Service Plans for infants and young children with hearing impairments under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It provides general information about hearing loss and deafness, intervention…

Mental health services continue to gain additional focus and momentum in the United States. The President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health recognized the critical role schools can play in the continuum of mental health services. The commission's final report, "Achieving the Promise, Transforming Mental Health Care in America…

The conversion of an "old school bus" in the late 1960s into a mobile library is discussed. The conversion was an element of educational service developed cooperatively between a regional educational laboratory and a rural school system. The project endeavored to improve the early experiences of future students, many of whom would have…

The practicum was designed to increase positive parenting skills and parental participation in American Indian pre-school classroom activities. Data collection and observations were methods employed to determine outcomes of the practicum. Twenty resources from tribal efforts across early childhood programming were cited along with periodical…

Discusses issues in personnel training practices for paraprofessionals providing related services in early intervention and education settings. The term paratherapist is used to refer to paraprofessionals working under the supervision of professionals in physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology. Presents a philosophy…

Used structural equational modeling to examine the combined influence and predictive ability of family characteristics on maternal and paternal involvement in early intervention programs. Found that coping was a significant predictor of maternal and paternal involvement as well as a mediator variable between family functioning and parental…

This keynote address to the 1996 International Early Childhood Conference on Children with Special Needs reviews progress in early intervention of the last decade and four studies which examined the effectiveness of early intervention programs and parent education programs for teen mothers. The author urges better data collection and holding state…

The effects of instruction in the Piacceleration Program (PXL), a hands on mastery-based program of instruction in Piagetian skills, on the acquisition of skills of classification, seriation, and conservation were studied with 28 Head Start students of Hispanic origin and 28 comparisons. PXL students did perform better on these skills. (SLD)

To serve poor youngsters and their families, South Bay Union School District developed its own preschool campus, the VIP (Very Important Preschoolers) Village. The program depends on strong administrative support, planned staff development, parent involvement, parent education programs, community partnerships, curriculum/assessment alignment, and…

Twenty at-risk first graders received 30 minutes of individual instruction from community tutors four days a week for up to 23 weeks. Subjects outperformed the control group on all reading, decoding, spelling and segmenting, and writing measures. Tutors who implemented the program with a high degree of fidelity achieved significant effect sizes in…

Examined influences on African-American children's cognitive development between 6 months and 8 years. Found that more optimal patterns of development were associated with intensive early educational child care, responsive home stimulation, and higher maternal IQ. Child care experiences were related to cognitive performance through enhancing…

This article describes a university-based training model for early intervention personnel in rural areas of Utah. The model uses an array of distance technologies including interactive television, Internet communications, CD-ROM, videotape, and traditional print material. Key decision-making points and the process of model development and delivery…

This article discusses the role of stimulability in the assessment and treatment of phonological disorders in Spanish-speaking children and applies principles of stimulability to the evaluation and treatment of a phonological disorder in a three-year-old Spanish-speaking child. The case study demonstrated that use of stimulability resulted in…

A study was conducted of 13 male sex offenders with mild intellectual disability (ages 17 to 43) in Victoria (Australia). Results suggest that cognitive restructuring, consequence training, relapse prevention, and covert sensitization appear to be promising intervention techniques. The importance of early intervention to prevent sexual offenses is…

Eighteen preschoolers with language impairments who had participated in a highly effective five-month intervention that focused on expressive grammar received an additional five-month intervention. Although participants improved during Phase 2, improvements generally were not as strong as those noted for Phase l. The costly clinician-administered…