Early intervention (EI) home visitation programs are central to delivering services that support infants and toddlers displaying developmental delays or disabilities and their families. Entities that oversee such programs continually seek to strengthen the quality of program practices. The "Getting Ready" approach is a professional…

Young children with visual impairment and their families often require specialized assistance through early intervention to develop adaptive routines, cues, and environmental settings during mealtimes and other daily tasks. There is little empirical data in the area of mealtime routines available to support families of young children with visual…

This paper aims to provide a position on the need for enhanced personnel preparation for special instruction in Early Intervention (EI). The need for specialized training is discussed, followed by the research, current issues, and needs. A framework for personnel preparation is provided: professional standards, competencies (knowledge, skills, and…

The DEC Recommended Practices provide guidance to families and professionals about the most effective ways to improve learning outcomes and promote development of young children, birth through age 5, who have, or are at-risk for, developmental delays or disabilities. "Assessment: Recommended Practices for Young Children and Families" is…

This "feature issue" focuses on early intervention with handicapped children, with an emphasis on: Project EDGE (Expanding Developmental Growth through Education), an early intervention research project initiated in 1968; strategies for developing family-friendly early intervention services; and progress reports from various states and…

Intended to help developers of early intervention programs for children with developmental disabilities, the book provides philosophy, methods, and procedures based on experiences of the Child Development Center of the University of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences. The first section presents a program description including information on…

the position statements of the Association for Retarded Citizens address major issues in early intervention for preschool age children with possible handicaps. Among statements offered are that public support should be maintained in maternal and child health block grant and in preschool incentive grants and demonstration programs; that…

This special newsletter issue was based on a July 1994 forum for educators and trainers of infant/family practitioners. Papers in the first section present emerging conceptual frameworks and the process of helping trainees to use these frameworks. Included are the following papers: "Head Start: The Emotional Foundations of School Readiness as…

This study examined provision of services to children with developmental disabilities and their families in the context of requirements of Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which requires family centered services for infants and toddlers. Focus group discussions were held with health professionals at two sites in each of…

This newsletter theme issue contains contributions by parents, practitioners, researchers, administrators, and providers of technical assistance, which explore aspects of the complex process of developmental assessment of infants and young children. They describe what is helpful and what can be harmful in current assessment practice. They offer…

This study examined the assessment and prescriptive practices used in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) efforts throughout the country. Project Directors (N=50) of projects funded under the Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act were surveyed. The survey instrument was designed to assess Project…

This speech reports on data collected by the Early Intervention Collaborative Study (EICS), which is a longitudinal study following the development of 190 young children with disabilities (and their families) who entered 29 publicly funded early intervention programs in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the period from 1985 to 1987. The…