Analysis of 15 young children with autism and their mothers as they proceeded through a program of skill training and family support found that behavior problems were significantly reduced and teaching skills were significantly improved over the course of training. The difficulty of the task was related to behavior problems and teaching skills.…

Interviewed 53 parents of center-city families in focus groups to obtain information about encouraging participation of difficult-to-reach families in intervention to prevent marital problems and alcohol and substance abuse in children. Mothers and fathers expressed widely different beliefs, indicating that interventions might target mothers and…

This study evaluated the impact of a pilot training package designed to teach six mothers observation and recording skills regarding their children's behaviors. Preliminary data, gathered in an analogue setting, provide modest support for the package's effectiveness, based on improvements in levels of agreement with the professional's data…

A study of middle-class mothers who reported teaching their children cognitive and academic, and social and life, skills shows differences in the relative emphasis on each. Results also suggest a need to increase parent education programs on fostering metacognition. (Author/LB)

Discusses ways for caregivers to improve sensitivity to cultural and individual differences and increase communication across cultural barriers. Offers suggestions for managing and resolving conflicts related to caregiving practices. (LB)

Because parents' expectations for cochlear implants in children with deafness are sometimes unreasonably high, cochlear implant teams need to be aware of the dynamics involved in expectations and of ways to help parents come to a realistic understanding of the benefits and limitations of implants. Expectations can be clarified through education,…

Describes a violence prevention program called "Choosing Non-Violence" (CNV) incorporated into Chicago Head Start and Title XX Day Care in 1988. Children, teachers, and parents learn to apply three key concepts of CNV: (1) the understanding and recognition of violence; (2) the power of personal choice and self-control; and (3) the power…

Twenty-seven parents with sexually abused children evaluated the effectiveness of a parent support group. Results indicated significant decreases in some of the children's dysfunctional behaviors, increased parental perception of coping skills and confidence as parents, but no change in parents' stress levels. (Author/JDD)

Project FIEL, Family Initiative for English Literacy, was designed to provide participatory literacy and biliteracy development opportunities for (Hispanic-American) families in El Paso. This article discusses program goals; theoretical perspectives; project design rationale; population characteristics; curriculum development, implementation, and…

Implemented 6-week parent-child-school contract program with parents of 12 elementary school students and compared behavior of those 12 students to that of 12 matched controls. Written contracts prepared by parents and child stated target behaviors and predetermined reward or privilege. Rate of weekly goal completion for experimental students was…

Calls for new approaches to meeting the needs of children and families, specifically through partnerships among Head Start, education, business, and other social service agencies. Discusses steps for establishing such partnerships as well as partnership objectives. Describes some existing collaborative programs around the country. (HTH)

Describes how teachers can support hearing parents in the use of strategies for reading effectively to children with deafness. Discusses using visual strategies for reading such as sign placement, text paired with sign demonstration, real-world connection between text and child's experience, and physical demonstration of character changes. (CR)

A Rochester, New York, elementary school attributes its high parent involvement to a turnaround strategy involving newsletters, phone calls, parent-teacher conferences, surveys, parent-education classes, parent-involvement activities, special announcements, participation rewards, informal contacts, a parent resource center, home visits, volunteer…

A case study illustrates how the ongoing data-based monitoring of timeout use by parents enhanced the treatment of an 8-year-old boy, referred because of noncompliance in the home. Maintaining the timeout record enabled rapid refinements in the timeout procedure by providing a feedback mechanism to the therapist, identification of the need for…

This response to Mahoney et al. (EC 623 392) agrees that there is currently less emphasis on parent education in the early-intervention literature but suggests that the current emphasis on family-centered services can be integrated with parent education while supporting family empowerment. (DB)