This study investigated viewpoints of 290 parents and 267 professionals concerning early intervention services for infants and young children with disabilities in the light of requirements of Public Law 99-457. Major concerns of both groups related to accessing services, developing Individualized Family Service Plans, and coordinating services.…

Compared the effects of TEACH, a perceptual remediation approach, to those of phonetic tutoring on first graders whose performance in the SEARCH Program during kindergarten indicated they were at risk for reading failure. There was no evidence for significant academic effects of participation in the TEACH program for at-risk children. (GLR)

This keynote address states that early intervention services must consider more than professional analyses in their planning. It describes findings from focus group discussions with Latino families of children with disabilities, emphasizing the need to match early intervention services with parent expectations and goals, and the need for services…

Discusses the psychological acculturation of young visible immigrants in Western industrialized countries, examining the psychosocial milieu that parents and society provide them, and the inability to assimilate or acculturate. "Visible" immigrant is a value neutral term for nonwhite or non-Caucasian immigrants. (SLD)

The differential effectiveness of a school-based alcohol use and misuse (AUM) prevention program on elementary school students' susceptibility to peer pressure (SPP) was studied. Findings showed that experimental group students with prior unsupervised AUM had significantly greater reduction than control students in rates of increase in SPP and…

This article describes requirements for developing Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSP) under Part H of the Education of the Handicapped Act. Components of the IFSP document are reviewed and process considerations are discussed. State-level and local-level strategies for implementing family-centered IFSP processes are highlighted. (Author/PB)

Thirty children (under 24 months of age) referred to an early intervention program were administered 3 developmental assessments. Although the Griffiths' Mental Development Scales correlated well with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development and the Battelle Developmental Inventory, the Griffiths' age equivalents were considerably higher than the…

A national survey of 134 instructional programs for hearing-impaired preschoolers gathered information about program size, age of referral, school-based versus home-based programs, communication methods, assessment, parent training, and programing strategies. The study found that problems continue in the ability of programs to provide quality…

This paper argues that efficacy of early intervention must be assessed in relation to both program and extra-program variables. A framework outlining five classes of independent variables and two classes of outcomes to be considered in efficacy research is presented, and regression and path analytic techniques are suggested as tools for addressing…

Data and concepts relevant to the Carolina Abecedarian experiment (an intensive early intervention intended to improve the intellectual performance of high-risk children) are presented. Evidence from the project supports the malleability of early intellectual development and improved school readiness and performance resulting from the…

A psychosocial theoretical perspective creates a rationale for directing alcohol education efforts toward enabling youth to make low-risk lifestyle choices. Meeting students' psychological needs by implementing alcohol abuse prevention curricula to improve social skills is recommended. The article discusses the etiology and treatment of problem…

Compared outcomes for visually impaired children and their families in two early intervention programs: a weekly, home-based program treating children and a program of monthly meetings for parents. Found that the more expensive, weekly program had negligible effects on child and family functioning. (BCY)

Compared cost effectiveness of an in-hospital intervention approach for medically fragile infants and a traditional approach of postdischarge referrals. Found that the in-hospital approach resulted in five times as many hours of intervention services for infants and cost three times as much as the referral approach, with few differences in effects…

The Early Intervention Special Education Program at West Virginia University developed, implemented, and evaluated a distance education model using satellite broadcasts of coursework and supervised practicum experiences to train early interventionists. Program success suggests that emerging telecommunications technologies offer a feasible…

A national survey of 483 preschool personnel revealed that paraprofessionals were hired in high proportions across all program types and more frequently in mainstreamed than nonmainstreamed programs. The lowest levels of paraprofessional employment occurred for public school kindergartens. Nearly three-fourths of the mainstreamed programs did not…