This article examines the role of assessment in developing Individual Family Service Plans (IFSP) under Part H of the Education of the Handicapped Act. Emphasis is on determining eligibility, collecting assessment data for describing developmental performance, and establishing desired outcomes. (PB)

A meaningful classification for living, work, and education was achieved by grouping 159 persons who were blind or visually impaired into 5 groups ranging from low to high functioning, according to 7 independent living skills: family responsibility; health and hygiene; legal awareness; community awareness; money management; social/interpersonal…

Information about family background and birth history was evaluated with respect to its power to predict speech language status in 662 preschool children. A set of risk criteria was found to accurately predict 55 percent of those children with poor communication skills and 76 percent of those with normal communication development. (Author/DB)

Twenty-six adolescents with educable mental retardation were identified as good or poor attenders based on teachers' ratings on an attention scale and were administered an auditory vigilance test and Posner's physical and name identity task. Although the vigilance task did not discriminate between groups, the more demanding Posner's task did.…

Two individualized, mentor-paced programs for elementary school students who are extremely talented in mathematics are described--the Julian C. Stanley Mentor Program and the Investigation of Mathematically Advanced Elementary Students. The paper discusses eligibility, level of instruction, mentor selection, student evaluation, and other program…

Talent beyond Words instructed elementary inner-city children in the performing arts, especially dance and percussion music, to provide opportunities for dynamic assessment of talent. Students identified as having talent participated in after-school curricula, thereby increasing their proficiency and self-esteem. (Author/JDD)

Study examined the relationship between race, class awareness, and leisure preferences. Data came from a national probability survey. Results showed similarities in leisure preferences between blacks and whites who considered themselves middle class. Patterns of leisure preferences diverged among blacks and whites who considered themselves poor or…

A survey of 36 state consultants in early childhood special education evaluated their perceptions of available developmental assessment instrumentation for the identification of children with developmental delays (ages 3-5). Results showed a need for assessment instruments that facilitate parent involvement and a need for special norms for…

Assessment of 486 first-quarter first graders identified 99 children as being at risk for reading difficulties, half of whom then received a phonological processing intervention. Results support the early identification of children at risk for reading difficulties and the effectiveness of the phonological processing intervention. (DB)

The performance of reading-disabled, math-disabled, slow-learning, under-achieving, and normal-achieving children (total n=143) was compared on verbal and visual-spatial working memory measures under initial, gain, and maintenance testing conditions. Ability group classifications changed under dynamic testing conditions. The study demonstrated the…

A checklist is presented to help structure systematic observation and diagnosis of students' handwriting. A breakdown of handwriting skills is accompanied by possible problem behaviors and related factors (such as grasp of writing instrument and motor skills) to consider in error analysis. The most common elements diminishing legibility are…

Early intervention of speech, language, and hearing problems is advocated. Guidelines for the identification of articulation, language, voice fluency, and hearing disorders are discussed. (DG)

Two authors of a paper (EC 602 058) reporting a factor analysis on records referring students to special education comment on their research: how their interest developed, their reaction to critics, clinical impressions acquired from the data, and the possible bias of school personnel toward referring more boys than girls for special education.…

Issues concerning the selection of judges for standard setting are discussed. Determining the consistency of judges' recommendations, or their congruity with other expert recommendations, would help in selection. Enough judges must be chosen to allow estimation of recommendations by an entire population of judges. (SLD)

Questions concerning identifying and treating Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are addressed, including whether ADHD is a handicapping condition, and what guidelines should be used for determining the need for educational services. A psychoeducational paradigm is presented to help school psychologists design effective programs for…