Even though children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be reliably identified by autism experts at 18 months, and the majority of parents report symptoms before age 2, the average age of diagnosis for children with autism in the United States is 3 to 4 years of age. Early identification is especially vital given the growing amount of…

Objective: This is the first validity study to date to examine the relationship between the Draw-A-Person: Screening Procedure for Emotional Disturbance (DAP:SPED) and strengths-based emotional and behavioral measures. The incremental predictive validity of the DAP:SPED relative to the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale was examined. Method:…

The goal of this study was to describe HIV risk behaviors, perceptions, testing, and prevention exposure among urban American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN). Interviewers administered a questionnaire to participants recruited through anonymous peer-referral sampling. Chi-square tests and multiple logistic regression were used to compare HIV…

The psychometric properties of the Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) (Bricker & Squires, 1999) used in a French-Canadian preschool population were compared with psychometric data derived from U.S. normative studies. The ASQ was translated into French (Bonin, Robaey, Vandaele, Bastin, & Lacroix, 2000) and used in four early childhood…

The authors conducted a needs assessment among students and health-care providers of a southwestern university health center with the goal of developing health-care -provider training addressing substance-abuse screening and intervention. They collected data from focus groups of undergraduate students and structured interviews and questionnaires…

The five chapters in this handbook, intended for parents of children entering kindergarten for the first time, offer suggestions about how parents can help their child get ready for school and make starting kindergarten a successful and happy event. Chapter 1 describes when learning begins and offers tips for helping children who are starting…

This planning guide is intended to facilitate flexibility in meeting the needs of under-represented groups in Florida programs for gifted students. An introduction defines these students (racial or ethnic minorities, limited English proficient, or from a low socioeconomic background), lists the required components of a district plan for increasing…

This study evaluated the predictive validity of the Caregiver's School Readiness Inventory (CSRI), a new screening measure developed for use in situations in which it may not be appropriate to employ traditional screening measures to identify preschool children at risk for school failure. The three items of the CSRI concern: (1) children's books…

Measures used at the Division of Developmental Studies at the University of Georgia in constructing a student profile (specifically, of high-risk college freshmen) are discussed. The areas measured concern: goals; learning styles; career exploration; stress and academic anxiety; developmental tasks; and locus of control. The goals checklist…

The handbook is intended for elementary and secondary school administrators and teachers providing programs for handicapped students in the province of Alberta, Canada. Functions of administrators include the establishment, development, and/or implementation of goals, support services, and evaluation procedures. The parents' role in assessment,…

Six migrant educational programs were conducted in Iowa during fiscal year 1981. In the 4 programs held during the regular school year, 9 teachers and 3 aides (all bilingual) served an enrollment of 224 children, 186 of whom were "Spanish dominate." During the 2 summer programs, 6 teachers and 6 aides (all bilingual) served 159 children,…

The following articles, edited versions of the principal speakers' presentations on bilingual special education, are presented: (1) "Cultural Diversity: Implications for Educational Change," by Dr. William Parker; (2) "Criteria for Identification, Placement, and Transfer of Transitional Bilingual Students," by Yolanda Ulloa;…

The Perceptions of Developmental Skills (PODS) Profile is a rating scale designed to keep standardize and profile subjective perceptions of adults who have frequent contact with handicapped preschool children. It is intended to complement, rather than to replace, standardized developmental assessment procedures, by integrating a diagnostic…

The Classroom Behavior Description (CBD)--a brief 10-item checklist on which teachers rate preschool childrens' behaviors which are considered most likely to influence school performance--was developed on the basis of earlier extensive research with more comprehensive children's behavior inventories. Results are reported of studies of teachers'…

A study was conducted at North Harris County College to determine the extent to which its Developmental Studies Program (DSP) was meeting stated goals and to assess the predictive reliability of the screening tests used to place incoming students in DSP courses. The study involved: (1) an assessment of the need for the DSP program as evidenced by…