This article first reviews early social and communication indicators of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in infants and toddlers. It then reviews evidence-based intervention practices for children with ASD and identifies principles for providing intervention for infants and toddlers at risk for ASD. Issues addressed include providing intervention in…

This article provides the American Psychiatric Association's definition of attention deficit disorder (ADD) and then gives an overview of ADD by considering the three types of ADD, the developmental impact of ADD, factors contributing to ADD, identification and assessment of students with ADD (emphasizing multimethod and consideration of…

A three-stage identification process is recommended for students suspected of having learning disabilities. This process examines discrepancy, causality, and the need for special education, and it complies with legal requirements. (Author)

This article presents examples of gifted children who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and discusses the difficulties in identifying these students. Characteristics of gifted students who have ADHD are listed, the link between creativity and ADHD is examined, and strategies for parents and educators are provided. (Contains…

This article discusses effective preassessment team procedures for identifying students with special needs, including collecting comprehensive information about the student, documenting the student's problems, developing specific and detailed intervention plans, identifying support personnel to help implement the intervention plan, and…

This article considers the extent to which Child Find procedures discussed in the literature are responsive to families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Discussion of the legal basis for Child Find activities targeting these young children and challenges in early identification of children from diverse backgrounds is…

This bibliography lists 132 resources for assessing students for the presence of a disability. Resources were published from 1983 through 1994 and are grouped into the following categories: (1) textbooks; (2) resources providing reviews and critiques of specific tests; (3) other sources of information; (4) selected resources on curriculum-based…

This paper provides guidelines for the audiologic assessment of infants and young children, highlighting recent technologic advances in auditory electrophysiology, acoustic immitance measure procedures, and behavioral audiometric techniques. First, audiologic assessment guidelines developed by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association are…

This guide for administrators addresses the problem of the frequent over-identification of African American students as disabled resulting in over-representation of this population in special education programs. The guide focuses on preventive strategies--specifically, how administrators may use the prereferral intervention process, school…

To help the classroom teacher identify speech problems in young children, the author presents some basic definitions and correction techniques, plus a chart of phonemes which normal children can articulate correctly at various ages. (SJL)

As a result of recent federal and state regulations, all children being considered for special education services must be identified through a team process. This article outlines the administrator's role in the Eligibility and Planning Team process that is utilized in the Fallbrook Union School District, San Diego County. (Editor/KC)

A survey of 312 Illinois elementary schools found that 178 had intervention assistance teams. Questionnaires completed by 83 schools provided information about team effectiveness, team composition, strategies and supports, team process, and inservice training and development. Teams met the needs of 59% of students without resorting to formal…

This study examined the development of phonological and reading skills in 171 students from the beginning of first grade (Time 1) to the end of second grade (Time 4). The study found that reader group membership (nondisabled, reading disabled, or poor reading) at Time 4 could be very accurately predicted from students' Time 1 scores. (Author/DB)

The first in seven sets of guidelines based on the consensus of experts in the treatment of psychiatric and behavioral problems in mental retardation (MR) focuses on diagnosis and assessment. It includes the definition and levels of mental retardation, difficulties in diagnosing psychiatric and behavioral problems in the presence of MR, assessment…

This document provides mental health professionals with information about the mental health needs and concerns of people who are hard of hearing and those who are late-deafened, i.e., deafened after language acquisition. Individual chapters address the following topics: (1) distinguishing differences among people with hearing loss (defining the…