This article presents a conceptual framework based on an intervention hierarchy to assist in deciding how to promote the peer interactions of young children with peer-related social competence difficulties in natural environments. It discusses making developmentally appropriate and inclusive early childhood programs the foundation for improved…

This article discusses assumptions that have guided research on children with disabilities, which are to: draw on findings from other areas of research, use rigorous experimental methods, rely on systematic replications, be alert to serendipitous findings, and attend to trends and shifts in perspectives, but follow the data when drawing…

Describes four characteristics that might be associated with the optimal use of peer-mediated procedures in integrated preschools: comprehensive in the skills and activities that they address, intensive or large scale in applications, practical and acceptable to teachers, and effective for producing intended outcomes. (Author/CR)

Outlines the rationale, critical dimensions, and techniques for using peer micronorms for determining developmental delays in young children and discusses technical adequacy considerations. Case examples of the use of peer micronorms with preschool children, supplemented with hypothetical data, are used to illustrate the technique. (CR)

Describes the various direct and indirect effects of HIV and AIDS on children's development and the implications for early intervention assessment. HIV and AIDS effects include disorganization during the neonatal period, failure to thrive, motor difficulties, cognitive dysfunction, expressive language behavior, attention problems, and…

Describes Q methodology, a technique that can be used to gain important insights on individuals' judgments, attitudes, and points of view on topics or situations that involve early intervention effectiveness issues. Specific steps involved in Q methodology are illustrated in a description of an early intervention efficacy study. (Author/CR)

This article offers both a rationale and method for the implementation of a natural literacy program for preschool children with language disabilities. It reviews research on development of fundamental literacy skills and briefly describes extant approaches to facilitating literacy skills. Tenets of the natural literacy perspective are explained…

Approximately 10% to 15% of children have some chronic health condition; 2% of children in the United States have severe chronic illnesses. Certain problems are common to most families with a chronically ill child: high costs, heavy daily care burden, conflicting professional advice, and social isolation. Early intervention may diminsh handicaps…

Only a small percentage of all chronically ill children under six are currently enrolled in early education programs. Care of chronically ill children in educational settings often entails the delivery of a variety of related services, including transportation; education-based health services; and speech, physical, and occupational therapies.…

The Developmental Task Model provides a basic framework for attaining optimal normalization for chronically ill children. The model examines how specific characteristics of an illness interact with particular age-related developmental tasks of childhood. Developmental issues, effects of chronic childhood illness, and implications for intervention…

Problems in research on chronic illness in children include the use of appropriate control groups and matching on control variables. The generic or cross-categorical approach has led to the identification of factors affecting children regardless of the particular illness. Adjustment to school depends on coordination of the family and health…

Suggestions are made about the type of information that educators should obtain from and communicate to health care providers and issues that may enhance effective communication with those in the health system. (Author/CL)

This discussion addresses the disease-centered structures of services for disabled children and analyzes orientation toward institutional imperatives rather than toward including concerns of families. Five areas for change are addressed including promotion of independence, recognition of the value of long-term relationships with professionals, and…

The article provides information about the number and diversity of preschool children with handicaps requiring vision services, such as refractive errors and eye muscle imbalances, and describes a vision care system designed to ensure that these preschool children receive optimal vision care. (Author/CL)

Social routines based on rhyming verses combined with co-active participation with adults were developed to permit visually impaired young children with additional handicaps to associate communicative responses with attention to and action on objects. (Author/CL)