Maternal and professional perspectives on the developmental, behavioral, and ecological status of children with disabilities and their families were compared, specifically examining the degree of congruence between maternal and professional estimates on various measures designed to assess child and family status. A review of 37 studies helped focus the inquiry. Subjects were recruited from nine early intervention programs in Louisiana, one in North Carolina, and one in Georgia. Seventy-three mothers and 41 interventionists provided status ratings for 73 children and their families. Mothers and professionals completed the same seven measures (with the exception of demographic forms) designed to assess global child characteristics, developmental status, and behavioral status. Results of canonical correlations and discriminant analysis support the proposition that mothers and interventionists can be in close agreement about child developmental and behavioral status provided that data are collected contemporaneously using the same instruments. This finding indicates that mothers can be viable and accurate sources of information about children during the early intervention assessment process. Factors that influence congruence between mothers and professionals are discussed. Twelve tables present study data, and a 95-item list of references is included. (SLD)