A study of low-income rural mothers in four states investigated the differences in demographics, school experience, social support, and school involvement for mothers with children with and without special needs. Forty percent of the mothers reported having at least one child with special needs. Twice as many mothers who did not complete the…

A parent interview process identified preference for various parent involvement activities among parents of handicapped preschool children. All parents were interested in maintaining contact with their child's teacher through informal procedures including telephone calls and notes. All but two parents expressed interest in combining these informal…

The Volunteers in Partnership with Parents (VIPP) program is designed to alleviate the pressing problems of rural families as well as provide early intervention to the children. The use of volunteers as partners in working with parents is the crux of the program. (JHZ)

Examines the importance of including families in the education of young handicapped children and discusses trends in the foci of family involvement programs of recent years. Describes the family involvement component of the Precise Early Education of Children with Handicaps (PEECH) outreach project. (Author)

A minimally trained paraprofessional made 6 visits to the homes of mildly mentally retarded and behaviorally disordered rural primary students to teach their parents basic instructional methods in mathematics. After 12 weeks of parent tutoring, the mathematical performance of experimental subjects improved significantly compared to that of matched…

Reports decreases in aggressive behavior by a 13 year old, behaviorally disordered boy when his teacher used recorded phone messages to communicate the days' behavior to his parents, who applied contingencies at home. Suggests that this intervention allows greater involvement of rural parents in behavioral programs. (SV)