According to even the most conservative estimates, at least a quarter of deaf children have additional disabilities. Most teacher preparation programs do not sufficiently prepare teacher candidates for the challenges posed by these children. This article describes a professional development effort to prepare in-service educators of the deaf to…

All children have their own unique ways of interacting with their environments, connecting with people around them, and learning about their world. Babies take in information from their senses and use this information to respond to people and events. Children's daily experiences facilitate integration of their senses. These early sensory…

Failure to attain handwriting competency during the school-age years often has far-reaching negative effects on both academic success and self-esteem. This complex occupational task has many underlying component skills that may interfere with handwriting performance. Fine motor control, bilateral and visual-motor integration, motor planning,…

A description of the development of movement by infants covers prenatal influences, gravity influences, sensory aspects of motor skills, deformities and deviations in the developmental sequence, and ways to assist infants with abnormal development patterns. (CB)

Two management approaches for hyperactive children with tactile defensiveness are described. Systematic desensitization uses sensory integration techniques. Implosion uses restraint and intense tactile stimulation implosively to break through the fear and hyperactive resistance. (JMF)

This paper addresses early identification, services, supports, and intervention for young children, birth through 4 years, who demonstrate delays in development that may place them at risk for later identification as having a learning disability (LD). Such delays include atypical patterns of development in cognition, communication, emergent…

Using Simple strategies, caregivers can learn to effectively communicate with infants through touch. This article offers suggestions and techniques for calming squirming babies of all types and ages who seem to be unable to find a comfortable position while being held. She begins by suggesting that care givers of very small babies be patient and…

This article outlines two compatible models of planning and implementing programs for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The Ziggurat Model begins the process with an assessment of student strengths and concerns related specifically to ASD and identifies interventions across five tiers that match these strengths and concerns: (a)…

A music education program for elementary hearing impaired students incorporates the skills of the music teacher and the teacher of the deaf. The program features a multisensory approach that focuses on exploitation of residual hearing through singing, listening, and playing classroom instruments. (CL)

Sensory functioning has long been considered crucial in the life of people with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) (Gillberg, C., & Coleman, M. (1992). "The Biology of Autistic Syndromes" (2nd ed.). London: Mac Keith press.) However, much of the research is methodologically flawed and based on child populations and adults' retrospective accounts (O…

This article presents an example of two boys who have received a list of diagnoses including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), autism, Asperger's syndrome, Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), and clinical depression. Both boys received a variety of interventions ranging from behavior modification plans to counseling and medication,…

A substantial number of school age children suffer from difficulties in integrating sensory input in an adaptive manner (termed sensory integration dysfunction--SID). These students are at high risk for emotional, social, and educational problems. This article defines SID, describes typical behaviors of children with SID, and presents guidelines…

The research and literature on how to handle biting has remained consistent over the last 20 years. Most publications and seasoned professionals focus on intervention and tell us to attend to the child who was bitten, reinforce the idea of "using our words" with the biter, and be consistent in the use of separation, redirection, and…

A summer home intervention program provided sensory integration therapy and visual-motor integration tasks to a preschooler with gross and fine motor delays. The child was involved in enjoyable activities and encouraged to talk to himself during his actions. The program was both successful and fun. (CL)

The suggestive-accelerative approach to foreign language instruction is described. This method, first used in Bulgaria by Georgi Lozanov, emphasizes bringing the imagination to bear on the learning task, in a relaxed classroom environment. After establishing a calm atmosphere through direct and indirect suggestion, the teacher proceeds to…