This "Special Focus" section contains three papers which explore social reciprocity interventions for young children with severe handicaps, by describing ways to help parents read and respond to their infants' behavior, help children respond to their caregivers, and help parents and their children have pleasant experiences within the community.…

This article defines tactile defensiveness as a sensory processing problem that results in aversive responses to touch. The article outlines causes, presents sample behaviors to assist in recognizing the possible presence of this dysfunction in infants and toddlers, and offers suggestions to assist in coping with and seeking appropriate treatment…

Parents of 25 infants/toddlers with handicaps were surveyed to gain perspectives on easing the transition from home-based infant programs to preschool programs. Analysis of the results led to 4 major recommendations and a series of steps that infant program staff can follow to facilitate transition to preschool program options. (JDD)

This article describes strategies to assist toddlers with special needs in inclusive settings to acquire social interaction skills. Strategies include: (1) arranging the environment; (2) group affection activities; (3) imitation of peers; (4) teacher prompts; (5) teacher reinforcement; (6) correspondence training; and (7) peer-mediated…

A portrait is presented of the toddler with slow expressive language development (SELD), based on research examining the health history; cognitive, communicative, and adaptive skills; behavior; and phonology of 30 toddlers with SELD and 30 nondisabled toddlers. The paper offers a review of research on the outcomes of SELD, and explores…

Home programs for young handicapped children have the potential for enhancing the partnership between home and school. In an effective home program the parent is viewed as the person most qualified to facilitate the child's development. This paper focuses on the philosophy of home programming and details some useful strategies which can be used by…

Issues related to training of personnel working with handicapped infants/toddlers and their families center on two major areas: content of training and process of training. Following an analysis of within-discipline and cross-discipline content and within-discipline and cross-discipline training processes, recommendations are offered concerning…

Directed to the state lead agency directors, the memorandum from the Office of Special Education Programs answers questions concerning implementation of Part H of the EHA, Education of the Handicapped Act, the Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Handicaps. The following questions are addressed: (1) Can a child who is counted…

This article presents ideas to encourage speech and language in infants and toddlers with hearing impairments. Ways to embellish interactions in daily life to make speech/language aspects more salient are suggested, with a 2-minute example of such an interaction between a mother and her 13-month-old hearing-impaired daughter. (DB)

A child caregiver developed a substance abuse intervention and prevention program for preschool children between 2 and 5 years of age who were at risk for substance abuse. The practicum effort resulted in a preschool substance abuse curriculum that included information on drugs, offered techniques for enhancing self-esteem, and discussed skills…

Crying is more common in children with handicaps than in their nonhandicapped age-peers. This paper reviews literature on the prolonged, frequent, or intense crying of handicapped babies; describes environmental considerations; outlines techniques for providing comfort; indicates observational and data-collection strategies; and suggests coping…

A survey of 31 Colorado special education directors determined which handicapped children, from birth to age 5, should be served in which settings. Results found that administrators see an emerging role for the public schools, are willing to serve a broader range of young handicapped children, and see the need for more integrated settings.…

The effects of stress in families of very young handicapped or at-risk children are pervasive, multiple, and sometimes unsuspected. Stress reduction strategies include building on family strengths, empowering families and children, arranging for medical stabilization, providing social and economic stabilization, providing a functional curriculum,…

This article describes assessment and management strategies for infants and toddlers with normal hearing or fluctuating conductive hearing loss, who are identified as having central auditory impairment and/or judged to have abnormal auditory behavior. Management strategies include audiologic, medical, and speech and language management. Three case…

The study evaluated developmental progress in three groups of infants (9-30 months) presenting Down syndrome (n=28), mild disability (n=16), or moderate/severe disabilities (n=16). To evaluate intervention impact, formulas that measure rate of development and change in rate of development were computed. Findings indicated rate change formulas were…