This book is intended to be a practical resource guide for professionals responsible for designing and implementing individualized early intervention programs for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with special needs. Part I provides an introduction to the purpose and characteristics of a comprehensive, multidisciplinary assessment. Part II…

This practicum report describes a 12-week project to decrease truancy and improve motivation and academic performance of three students (ages 12 to 18) hospitalized with severe emotional disturbances. A visible and powerful reward system using a menu strategy was developed and implemented in which students participated daily in establishing goals…

This practicum, designed to improve positive experiences of at-risk preschoolers, involved the coaching of parents in regard to their interactions with their preschoolers. The goal of the practicum was to provide parents with tools that would help them enrich the home environment of their preschool children. Parents of preschoolers in Chapter 1…

This study investigated the school adjustment of 1,300 low-income, minority children in the Chicago Public Schools. Chidren's progress from preschool to fourth grade was traced. Data were collected from teachers, parents, children, and computerized records. The study primarily examined mediated effects of preschool; influences on cognitive growth…

Contributions to this theme issue of a bulletin on infants aged birth to three, point out that becoming a parent is an evolving process and that infants' meanings to their parents shape parenting behavior and the capacity to change. Articles also examine the challenge of how to support parents as they come to, and continue in, the process of…

The four sections of this report use text, graphs, and tables to present the status of Oregon programs providing special education, compensatory education, student services, early childhood education, and special projects. The first section, on special education, provides the mission statement and the state's goals for special education and then…

The current study explored the association between a large-scale federally funded preschool intervention and the social and emotional development of participants. Data were drawn from the Chicago Longitudinal Study (CLS) and included 1,378 primarily African American youth who participated in the CLS and had scores for two or more identifiable…

An increase in gang violence and mobility in the last 20 years has alarmed members of the public school community. Gang membership, formation, location, and growth are described. Strategies to counteract gang activity, such as school discipline policies, school and community prevention programs, information sharing networks, and state legislation,…

This document, intended as a resource for school psychologists, contains articles addressing a variety of psychological and behavioral problems of children and adolescents. Each chapter includes the following content: background information concerning the specific topic, approaches for assessing the behavior of concern, intervention possibilities,…

The Early Warning System (EWS) of the Individualized Study Program (ISP) at the University of California, Davis, was evaluated. Disadvantaged students who have not met the university's entrance requirements are tracked by the EWS during their first year in order to identify academic problems and provide advising and support. Findings include: EWS…

The Children's Language Institute Preschool Project developed a successful classroom-home language intervention program for mildly to mildly-to-moderately language-impaired preschool children. An overview of the project, its rationale, and its results in terms of positive change in families and children are described. This volume is designed to…

The Middle School Study of Mainstreamed Students sought to establish a foundation for interdisciplinary research on middle school mainstreaming by merging teacher effectiveness and special education practices. The study examined teaching behaviors through macro (classroom) and micro (individual student) analyses of classroom interactions, to…

American Indian teenagers have high rates of suicide, school dropout, alcoholism, and drug usage. Even students who are doing well need to explore new experiences and to develop new skills that challenge them to reach for higher goals and help them cope with today's pressures. This guide is intended to assist counselors and teachers design…

Many school systems have started to go beyond programs focused on suicide prevention or drug abuse to encompass all types of school crises. School districts and individual schools across tha nation are formulating crisis management plans and in some states they have become mandatory. Basic procedures drawn from plans adopted by schools include the…

This symposium focused on the special needs of visually handicapped infants and young children. Texts of 48 papers are presented, including keynote addresses by W. Aubrey Webson ("The First Steps") and Heather Hewitt ("First Steps--Parenting, Prevention and Programming"). Regional reports are provided for Japan, Bangladesh, the…