This article discusses: the concept of team interaction as it relates to early intervention with young special needs children, the evolution of the family's role on the team, and principles and practices for team development of the Individualized Family Service Plan. Examples of exemplary family-focused principles and practices are provided. (JDD)

Presents ideas to help parents enhance their children's creative writing at home by building upon what they learned at school. Suggestions include modeling respect for written words, reading aloud, providing good tools and a comfortable location, selecting topics, hearing the message behind the written words, and publishing the child's work. (SM)

This article focuses on several approaches for schools to use of improve school climate, in part to prevent violence or at least to improve student behavioral conflicts, including: parent and community involvement, character education, violence-prevention and conflict-resolution curricula, peer mediation, and bullying prevention. (Contains…

Reviews common barriers to family participation in prevention services and highlights advances in strategies for recruiting families. Presents practical, detailed procedures for enlisting hard-to-reach families into prevention services and into prevention research evaluation interviews. Reports on recruitment success rates from a family counseling…

Recognizes the critical role parents play in helping young children become successful readers and writers. Describes how the Even Start program encourages families to host a party for a small group of friends and family in their home to help families gain access to the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to create a literate environment in…

Recruitment of participants is a long-standing practice for many programs serving children and families, although the way in which it is approached varies greatly. This volume is presented as a practical tool for practitioners to use in systematizing their recruitment efforts. Section 1, "Reaching Diverse Families," contains an…

Predicated on the idea that one of the best ways to support individuals' book sharing with a special child in their lives is to establish a family book sharing group with people in the community, this book offers specific suggestions for organizing such a group and provides plans for at least six gatherings. According to the book, this book…

This theme issue provides four articles that address family involvement in the transition of youth with disabilities from school to work. The first article, "Family Involvement" by Marge Goldberg and Shauna McDonald, offers evidence of the importance of family involvement at this stage of the individual's life, reports on families' experiences,…

Often the burden of promoting science and engineering fairs falls upon science teachers who have to add the organizational activities for the fair to their normal teaching load. This manual is intended to assist in the science fair process by providing information about how to create a team of volunteers to manage the organizational activities.…

To increase interactions and to improve communication between the school and home, the TransParent School concept was developed. The TransParent School Model (TSM) includes computer-based calling from the school and uses electronic mailboxes so parents can call and hear a message from the teacher every day. The model, first implemented in a school…

Swallowing problems can result from a catastrophic illness or injury, and the family's role is very important in implementing the swallowing precautions recommended by the rehabilitation team. Explained in this pamphlet are the stages of the normal swallowing sequence, symptoms of a swallowing disorder, medical conditions associated with…

The parent's guide provides information on a home based communication program designed to develop basic communication skills in severely, multiply handicapped children. The guide consists of three sections: an introduction, information on communication training in the home, and a list of resources. Following the brief introduction is a discussion…

The report--over half of which consists of appendixes--describes the Family Therapy Institute, a statewide program in Rugby, North Dakota devoted to the deinstitutionalization of juvenile delinquent status offenders by means of short term intensive family therapy treatment. Among the aspects covered are a history of the philosophical approach…

The home is viewed as a critical component in the development of creativity in children and a force to improve the effectiveness of educational programs. The article defines creativity and its importance, describes early facilitating environments (involving respect for the child, independence, and enriched learning), and discusses the home-school…

This book explains how to develop a research workshop, demonstrating how children's interests and questions can become the central focus of the curriculum and offering dozens of techniques for organizing the classroom and the school day to support student research. The book also provides guidelines for finding a wide range of resources, fostering…