The paper describes the rationale behind the Charlotte Circle Project, a program which is developing and implementing a social reciprocity curriculum for very young severely handicapped children and their parents. The normalization principle suggests that interventions be age appropriate and functional. For children younger than 3 years an age appropriate and functional intervention program would emphasize social reciprocity recognizing the fact that parent-child interactions are often interrupted and distorted because of such child characteristics as nonresponsiveness, inability to "take in," to feel comfort, atypical motor responses, and atypical daily living needs. The curriculum stresses the need of parents to feel competent about handling the young child, to feel effective in meeting the child's needs, to observe positive changes in return for their caregiving; and the need of the child to sustain the caregiver's attention, to communicate needs, and to develop satisfying relationships. The project's implementation strategies include an early intervention model that is both home-based and center-based and the establishment of individualized social reciprocity goals for both parent and child. (DB)