There has recently been an explosion of interest and writing about autism, autism spectrum disorders, pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDDNOS). This issue of the "Early Childhood Bulletin" suggests readings for parents, therapists, and professionals serving on Interagency…

A playground safety checklist provides an up-to-date play area inspection system based on standards from the American Society for Testing and Materials' F 1487-95 and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's Handbook for Public Playground Safety (1994). Guidelines address "public" playground equipment installed in parks, schools,…

Research on playground design in Japan and England offers challenges to the logic behind how playgrounds in the United States are designed. This paper presents observations of outdoor environments for children and youth in Japan and England where the space is not only useful and safe but also contributes to learning and play that reflects the…

Describes the development and evaluation of a method for introducing simple arithmetical symbolism to preschool children through the use of simple games. (JOW)

Four stutterers, aged 3-5, received treatment based on parent-administered, operant verbal stimulation. Data show that the intervention, coupled with a programed maintenance schedule, reduced stuttering and accompanied increases in syllable output. Findings suggest that cases of early stuttering might be managed effectively by parents, with…

This article presents a practical guide to help professionals develop techniques and materials that motivate preschool-age children to learn to use low vision devices. Skills for optical-device training and sample training activities for monocular and magnifier use are outlined. (Author/DB)

The Social Interactive Coding System (SICS) assesses the continuous verbal interactions of preschool children as a function of play areas, addressees, script codes, and play levels. This paper describes the 26 subjects and the setting involved in SICS development, coding definitions and procedures, training procedures, reliability, sample…

Teachers used a nonexclusionary time-out package emphasizing ongoing participation to treat inappropriate social behaviors in 4 classrooms of roughly 16 preschool children each. Behavior improved in terms of several measures including direct observation. Opinions of treatment acceptability from a survey of 210 lay people were also found to support…

Linguistic performance of 7 children (mean age=68 months) with spina bifida, hydrocephalus, and average intelligence was evaluated. Subjects dealt with the semantic-pragmatic requirements of linguistically posed problems in an age-appropriate manner. Performance declined as task demands increased but no more than performance of nondisabled…

The paper describes the steps necessary to integrate a preschool program to increase least restrictive environment options for preschoolers with developmental handicaps, and reviews the case study of one preschool undergoing integration. Described are the rationale for change, the change process, daily activity schedule, and sample continuums for…

Teachers' judicious use of humor in the classroom can have such positive effects as improving communication, focusing attention, provoking thought, liberating creative capacities, motivating students, and reinforcing desirable behaviors. Activities are suggested for exposing deaf students to various types of humor and helping them explore their…

The article briefly reviews the research and controversy concerning sex education for handicapped children and offers five guidelines including build self-esteem, answer questions clearly and accurately, avoid threats and jokes, and respect children's privacy. (DB)

A study of five autistic children in a segregated preschool, five mainstreamed autistic children, and four nonhandicapped, integrated peers found that all of the groups made better than normative progress in language development. There were no significant differences in changes in language ability between segregated and mainstreamed autistic…

Four preschool children with autism played "Follow-the-Leader," in which a normal peer demonstrated and physically prompted a variety of actions and object manipulations that defined the activity. Following training, all four subjects generalized their imitative skill to a new setting involving new actions and object manipulations. (Author/JDD)

This paper describes the development and application of individualized intervention procedures in a classroom for preschool language-impaired children. Language development principles utilized in the program focus on determining the setting, timing, interactive participants, purpose, and content. Resulting changes in language comprehension and…