The purpose of the analysis reported in this article was to determine to what extent child and classroom characteristics were associated with the amount of time children with disabilities spent displaying each of 5 categories of engagement. Predictors consisted of children's receipt of incidental teaching, developmental quotient, and quality of…

Family-centered practice encompasses a philosophy and a method of service delivery that underpins early intervention services and is considered "best practice" in fields concerned with optimal child development. The aim of this study was to gain a critical understanding of parental experiences of an early intervention service that professionals…

The Office of Special Education Programs funded Center to Inform Personnel Preparation Policy and Practice in Early Intervention and Preschool Education conducted a study to obtain current information about state certification requirements for early childhood special educators who work with preschool children with developmental delays and…

The provision of choice making is frequently cited as an indicator of developmentally appropriate practice for young children with and without disabilities; however, there is little empirical evidence regarding the rate of delivery of choices within the preschool classroom. The delivery of intervention strategies by a classroom-based…

Discussion of the case method of instruction (CMI) in early intervention personnel preparation offers information on selecting quality cases, preparing for case discussion, facilitating case discussion, and evaluating learner outcomes. Strategies described were field-tested and validated with 128 early intervention instructors who participated in…

This article draws on empirical data and anecdotal examples to support teaching parents of young children with developmental disabilities naturalistic language intervention strategies. It also identifies the skills that parent educators need to be effective and discusses a model for preparing professionals to teach parents. (Contains references.)…

A study compared the progress of 12 Greek children (ages 8 months to 5 years) with disabilities who received a weekly educational visit from early interventionists for 2 years with that of 12 controls. Results showed significant gains for treated children in overall functioning level and in different domains of development. (Contains references.)…

This article presents the construction process and an analysis of the EPASSEI (European Parent Satisfaction Scale about Early Intervention). The 57-item scale is based on the ideological postulates of the manifest of EURLYAID. The answers of 584 European families indicate that in general, parents are satisfied with early intervention. (Contains…

This article presents five models of early intervention used in Budapest. Diagnostic and treatment methods used by the Pediatric Institute and the Conductive Education System are described, along with the Deveny Special Manual Technique and Gymnastic Method, the Gezenguz method and techniques used in the Early Developmental Center. (CR)

Explores the social interaction of young children with disabilities in inclusive, center-based settings by describing the social interaction of very young children with disabilities and investigating strategies used to promote these interactions. These strategies include peer-mediated, child-mediated, and teacher-mediated strategies. (Author/CR)

This review of the research concerning developmental patterns of young children with autism finds specific patterns of relative strengths and weaknesses involving cognitive, emotional, linguistic, and motoric capacities. Early intervention strategies that address the unique learning profile of autism and utilize the effective practices developed…

This study attempted to ascertain commonalities and differences in critical program practices among nationally known, validated educational programs for young children with autistic spectrum disorders. Areas of agreement among programs included early intervention, individualization, specialized curriculum, family involvement, systematic…

The Family-Centered Interdisciplinary Preservice Training Program in Early Intervention at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is providing training to professionals that fully integrates parent involvement. Student activities include a curricular focus on family-centered early intervention, hands-on activities building interdisciplinary team…

Describes a behavior analytic program for preschool children with autism, the University of California, Los Angeles, Young Autism Project. It reviews outcome data, replication and dissemination efforts, frequently voiced concerns, and future directions. It concludes that, based on existing scientific evidence, increasing the availability of…

Describes development and implementation of a home-based intensive applied behavioral analysis program based on the Lovaas method for a young child. Describes creation of the home-based program, lack of support from the child's school program, the child's progress, and the opening of a pilot school and resource center that serves seven children…