This report describes a self-management skills intervention utilizing a picture schedule for four high school students with moderate to severe mental retardation. The program was initiated at school and continued at home with different tasks. Students continued to successfully use the schedules on follow up after summer vacation. (DB)

Effects of a restructured Chapter 1 program (RCP) on 45 first graders' literacy were examined. RCP students could read a primer fluently and performed better than comparison groups (students in the regular Chapter 1 program and classroom peers). Improvement was particularly apparent for those with the lowest initial readiness scores. (SLD)

This article reviews the rationales and premises of the Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) approach and early childhood special education (ECSE), highlighting areas of overlap. DAP's insufficiencies for planning, implementing, and evaluating ECSE programs are noted. A selective literature review clarifies issues separating the two areas,…

Examines family-centered care and prevention, two concepts central for the development of child welfare services for children infected with HIV. Explores implications of HIV infection for foster care of infected children. Reviews the training of foster care personnel and foster parents to provide competent services. (BC)

Pre- and postcourse questionnaire assessments of a university course on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) taken by 429 college students demonstrate substantial cognitive and attitudinal changes over the period. University courses can be an efficient way to educate future community leaders and professionals about AIDS. (SLD)

A 2-year stepped intervention program--the HealthWise Intervention Study--at a company with 4,164 employees found that overall health risk status improved at all 4 intervention levels. The highest level, combining environmental policy with high-risk targeting, was associated with the greatest improvement in lifestyle risk factors. (SLD)

Analyzes why the current complex of social institutions and systems does not effectively serve poor children, highlighting the lack of early or preventative help for families and inappropriate organizational structure. Offers a series of five principles for a new foundation based on prevention, comprehensiveness, continuity, and accountability.…

Describes the Decker Family Development Center (DFDC) in Barberton (Ohio), while relating the difference that the DFDC's services has made to one poor family. Recounts the DFDC's establishment, funding, and current services (adult education, counseling for parents and children, and several types of child care services). (JB)

This study of 13 youth with moderate/severe mental retardation who learned to use the System for Augmenting Language (SAL) found that subjects used the SAL in concert with vocalizations and gestures and that the SAL permitted subjects to convey specific information that was helpful in promoting the initiation as well as the continuation of…

This article extends the ideas of social support systems to giftedness and disadvantagement, and presents examples of two intervention programs for talented, economically disadvantaged children--the Epstein Fine Arts Fund, and SMART (Science and Mathematics Advocacy and Recruitment for Teaching), both in Chicago, Illinois. A research agenda is…

This article describes an assessment approach for students with severe and multiple disabilities, SMH.PAL, that employs expert system technology. The system matches behavior topography with studies describing treatment approaches and then generates case-specific, annotated descriptions of potentially useful articles. It also models an approach to…

An approach to collaboration in social skills instruction for students with disabilities or other special needs is described. The Teaching Social Skills Program involves a four-step evaluation process, with various interventions for students who either cannot or will not demonstrate prosocial behaviors. Teacher training in collaboration skills and…

Reviews the professional literature on such topics/issues in early childhood education as the Reggio Emilia approach; activity-based classrooms; use of learning centers in classrooms; storytelling, story dramatization and writing; story "stretchers" for primary grades; connections between body size and self-esteem; and early childhood…

Examines pre-first-grade programs in three New England school districts to determine why so many children cannot meet regular classroom demands. Extrayear programs are a quick fix allowing schools and communities to retain policies that permit children to be labeled, tracked, and retained. There is no substitute for a well-designed,…

This study analyzed scores of 469 British adult clients with recent loss of sight on the Nottingham Adjustment Scale using LISREL structural modeling techniques. Results supported a theoretical model of the self in terms of two latent factors--internal self-worth and self as agent. Implications for rehabilitation and intervention with cognitive…