There is little research regarding autistic adult, parent and professional perspectives on support goals for young autistic children. A total of 87 autistic adults, 159 parents of autistic children, and 80 clinical professionals living in New Zealand and Australia completed a survey about the appropriateness and importance of common support goals…

Way to Play is an approach that supports adults to promote the engagement of young children with autism spectrum disorder through play. The Ministry of Education in New Zealand has collaborated with Autism New Zealand to ensure the sustainable delivery of Way to Play within Auckland's early learning services by training early intervention staff to…

Parents are the logical intervention agents for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The early start Denver model (ESDM) is a promising early intervention approach for children with ASD that can be implemented by parents. This study evaluated the effects of training parents in the use of the ESDM. We used a non-concurrent multiple…

In 1993, the first study of outcomes of auditory-verbal graduates was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology (JAAA). The stated purpose of the research at that time "was to document the status of graduates of one aural habilitation option; auditory-verbal" (p. 190, Goldberg & Flexer). A follow-up study was…

The recently reported i3 Scale-Up of Reading Recovery (May et al., 2015) found an effect size of +0.69 in favor of Reading Recovery compared to the control group. We discuss four issues: (a) many of the lowest achieving students were excluded from participation in Reading Recovery; (b) the control group received a range of different experiences;…

Early intervention for children with behavioural difficulties can be effective in terms of outcomes for both the children and their families. Early intervention can save a child from long-term outcomes such as school failure, peer rejection and later offending. However, in terms of accurate assessment of young children's behavioural difficulties,…

The article shares some of the reflections of the project team who developed the "Do You Know Me? E Mohio Ana Koe Ki Ahau?" resource for educators, which aims to assist educators in both school and early childhood education services to clarify concerns about young children and take appropriate action. Issues discussed include the context…

Three studies evaluated the impact of the Home Instruction Programme for Preschool and Year One Youngsters (HIPPY) on New Zealand children's reading ability, school readiness, and school behavior. Findings indicated that HIPPY children showed consistently better performance that control group children on all measures used, with differences…

The Kohanga Reo, or "language nest" centers, provide places where Maori children can learn their native language. In its partnership with Te Kohanga Reo, the New Zealand Early Intervention Service has: (1) sent representatives to Maori tribal committee meetings; (2) ensured Kohanga Reo representation on early intervention management…

This article proposes that the learning stories model can be used effectively as an assessment method for young New Zealand children with special needs. In this model, early intervention assessment data are collected in natural contexts. A description of experiences in using learning stories is provided. (Contains 13 references.) (CR)