Twenty-five first-graders referred for special education and 10 control children were administered standardized and experimental tasks. Scores were used to form subgroups based on presence/absence of risk factors (such as poor work-related skills and poor comprehension of discourse), and degree of risk for referral was determined for each…

Concept-teaching procedures in five basal language programs for kindergarten were analyzed on the basis of 11 design-of-instruction criteria. Concepts such as position, color, shape, size, and directionality were examined. Results suggest that the programs' concept-teaching procedures failed to adhere to essential principles for designing…

A survey of 388 Indiana secondary vocational educators concerned vocational education programs and practices for handicapped learners. Among the results, it was found that 38 percent of educators had not received special training for instructing handicapped learners, and primary modifications made for handicapped learners entailed extra assistance…

Elementary school children (n=336) were assessed on their self-efficacy beliefs. Mainstreamed mildly handicapped students reported lower academic and social self-efficacy than their nonhandicapped and gifted peers. No differences in academic self-efficacy were reported between gifted and nonhandicapped students; however, gifted students reported…

Special and regular education elementary school teachers (n=100) who use microcomputers were queried on: experience with microcomputers, computer access, instructional uses, and perceptions of microcomputer effectiveness. Teachers had academic, rather than social or motivational, goals for computer use, but felt that computers' positive effects…

Developmental intervention programs for infants with handicaps and their parents generally focus on preventing eventual developmental delays; changing the infants' behavior, development, or relationships with caregivers; or changing the family system. For each intervention purpose, exemplary programs are described. Issues related to efficacy and…

State applications for the Part H program of Public Law 99-457 were classified by type of lead agency and by level of previous early intervention activities. Two variables were then analyzed: required components emphasized during initial year activities, and allocation of funds for administration, interagency coordinating council, planning, and…

Sixty-two very low-birthweight children were evaluated at five years of age on cognitive abilities and visual motor integration. The subjects, enrolled in regular classrooms, scored lower than controls on measures of visual perceptual/visual motor function and had more problems including attending to tasks, following directions, and passivity.…

Families of 44 preterm infants were studied for two years, and results showed changes over time in the amount of stress reported, as child-related problems changed. No changes were reported in the amount of social support received by parents. Factors involved in predicting stress also changed over time. (Author/JDD)

A comprehensive three-level program evaluation plan assesses overall impact of early intervention programs through assessment of children's progress toward developmental milestones; quarterly child progress through administration of a program-relevant, criterion-referenced tool; and weekly child progress toward specific instructional objectives by…

The Transactional Intervention Program was designed to modify interaction patterns between parents and their handicapped children, aged zero to three, in a home-based intervention program. Results of program implementation with 41 children showed decreases in parents' interactional dominance and frequency of directives, increases in…

Three mothers of handicapped children were taught to imitate their child's behavior; subsequently the number of mands displayed by the mothers during play sessions were measured. Results showed increases in the percentage of sample intervals during which mothers imitated their children and showed that, as imitations increased, mands decreased.…

Mothers (n=45) of developmentally delayed young children were surveyed concerning family resources, personal well-being, and adherence to professionally prescribed child-level interventions. Adequacy of resources was related to both well-being and intervention commitment, even after the effects of maternal age, socioeconomic status, and child age…

The Family Needs Survey assesses the functional needs of parents with young handicapped children, including the following areas of need: information, support, community services, financial assistance, assistance in explaining the handicap, and assistance in family functioning. Field testing with 34 families indicated the instrument's usefulness as…

The impact of regular and special education on 11 learning-disabled children in fourth through sixth grade was studied by analyzing their slope of improvement on curriculum-based measures of reading scores. A time series analysis indicated that daily reading instruction in a resource room was a more effective intervention than regular education.…