A 2-year stepped intervention program--the HealthWise Intervention Study--at a company with 4,164 employees found that overall health risk status improved at all 4 intervention levels. The highest level, combining environmental policy with high-risk targeting, was associated with the greatest improvement in lifestyle risk factors. (SLD)

Analyzes why the current complex of social institutions and systems does not effectively serve poor children, highlighting the lack of early or preventative help for families and inappropriate organizational structure. Offers a series of five principles for a new foundation based on prevention, comprehensiveness, continuity, and accountability.…

Describes the Decker Family Development Center (DFDC) in Barberton (Ohio), while relating the difference that the DFDC's services has made to one poor family. Recounts the DFDC's establishment, funding, and current services (adult education, counseling for parents and children, and several types of child care services). (JB)

This study of 13 youth with moderate/severe mental retardation who learned to use the System for Augmenting Language (SAL) found that subjects used the SAL in concert with vocalizations and gestures and that the SAL permitted subjects to convey specific information that was helpful in promoting the initiation as well as the continuation of…

This article extends the ideas of social support systems to giftedness and disadvantagement, and presents examples of two intervention programs for talented, economically disadvantaged children--the Epstein Fine Arts Fund, and SMART (Science and Mathematics Advocacy and Recruitment for Teaching), both in Chicago, Illinois. A research agenda is…

This article describes an assessment approach for students with severe and multiple disabilities, SMH.PAL, that employs expert system technology. The system matches behavior topography with studies describing treatment approaches and then generates case-specific, annotated descriptions of potentially useful articles. It also models an approach to…

An approach to collaboration in social skills instruction for students with disabilities or other special needs is described. The Teaching Social Skills Program involves a four-step evaluation process, with various interventions for students who either cannot or will not demonstrate prosocial behaviors. Teacher training in collaboration skills and…

Reviews the professional literature on such topics/issues in early childhood education as the Reggio Emilia approach; activity-based classrooms; use of learning centers in classrooms; storytelling, story dramatization and writing; story "stretchers" for primary grades; connections between body size and self-esteem; and early childhood…

Examines pre-first-grade programs in three New England school districts to determine why so many children cannot meet regular classroom demands. Extrayear programs are a quick fix allowing schools and communities to retain policies that permit children to be labeled, tracked, and retained. There is no substitute for a well-designed,…

This study analyzed scores of 469 British adult clients with recent loss of sight on the Nottingham Adjustment Scale using LISREL structural modeling techniques. Results supported a theoretical model of the self in terms of two latent factors--internal self-worth and self as agent. Implications for rehabilitation and intervention with cognitive…

The East Coast Migrant Head Start Project, a federal grantee providing Head Start services to migrant families, has developed a continuity system to ensure that comprehensive service delivery occurs for each child and family enrolled. The system focuses on centralized and parent-held documentation, advocacy training for staff and parents, and…

Fourth and fifth grade learning-disabled and non-learning-disabled students, who participated in a socially mediated writing intervention emphasizing the process of writing, writing strategies, and the role of teacher-student and student-student dialogue, were compared to a similar group of students who had not participated in the intervention.…

This paper uses a case study of a 16-year-old girl with traumatic brain injury (TBI) to present information on the demographics of head injury, neuropathology, recovery patterns, acute rehabilitation, educationally significant effects, behavioral sequelae, the school as a vehicle for rehabilitation, a transition model, school reentry, and…

Discusses a school model for the next century which would build child care and family support into the school system by using school buildings for early childhood services and afterschool programs. Proposes a family support system involving three outreach programs in which parental involvement is a key factor. Discusses concerns about costs and…

Studies examining the social skills deficits of children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are reviewed, and possible mediating activities are explored. Efficacy studies involving medication, behavioral interventions, and cognitive-behavioral interventions are discussed. The need for adjunctive nonpharmacological interventions…