The paper summarized the rationale for early intervention programs and describes the major components of the Project WISP (Wyoming Infant Stimulation Program) center-based program for handicapped young children (18-36 months). Early intervention for handicapped children is justified from five points-of-view: prevention of failure during subsequent…

Previous studies of imaginary companions consistently have found a relation between the incidence of these "fantastical friends" and children's birth order. Unsuccessful attempts to link imaginary companion formation to child characteristics may be due to researchers' treatment of these friends as a form of pretend play rather than as a…

This paper reports the findings of a study that looked at the perceptions of self-competence in Head Start children of Caucasian and Hispanic background. The Joseph Pre-school and Primary Self-Concept Screening Test (JPPSST) was used to collect the needed data. Analyses of data indicate that there is a significant difference in the self-concept…

A qualitative study of the perceptions of mentoring by early childhood teachers provides evidence for the concept of transformation for both mentor and protege in their personal and professional development. The concept of mentoring in early childhood education is presented as a viable strategy in the effort to professionalize early childhood…

This study examined the possibility that children's participation in a sexual abuse prevention program would lead to an increase in their fears of sexual abuse, benign touches, and normal childhood situations. Also examined was the relation of children's knowledge of sexual abuse prevention concepts to their fears of sexual abuse. Participants…

An experiment examined the possibilities that: (1) repeated deviations in a routine event become fused into the general event representation (GER) for that event; and (2) when deviations go unreported, it is because they have been forgotten. Preschool children were interviewed to get their script reports before and after repeated deviations in the…

Excluding poetry, number, wordless, alphabet, and information books, this paper discusses the work of 10 visually significant picture book illustrators who published in the 1980s. The books included in the paper, both traditional tales and modern stories, were illustrated by Anthony Browne, Henrik Drescher, Lois Ehlert, Stephen Gammell, Ivan…

A home based infant stimulation program for handicapped preschoolers in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, has been successful and cost effective. Home teachers help parents implement a precise, individualized curriculum. Physical and speech therapists are available as well. Other program emphases include providing emotional support to parents and…

Project TAP (Tapping Achievement Potential) is designed to ameliorate deficits of mildly disabled preschoolers attending day care programs. Advantages of the TAP approach include a regular class environment, full day program, reduced training costs of day care teachers, and benefits of early intervention. Teachers in two demonstration classrooms…

Louisiana's statewide provisions for education of gifted and talented preschoolers are reviewed, and difficulties encountered in serving 300 gifted young children are addressed. Among the administrative burdens cited are narrow identification criteria and the combination of limited financial and personnel resources resulting in the availability of…

This study examined the mode of locomotion preschoolers used to traverse fence-like barriers of various heights in order to reach a goal. Preschoolers could step over the barrier, crawl under it, or walk under it. The experimental situation consisted of a room with four fences set up at different heights. Two age groups of preschool children…

Friendship patterns and sociometric status of 27 young preschoolers with a mean age of 39 months were assessed naturalistically. Subjects were more likely to show positive reactions to the emotions of their friends than to those of their acquaintances, thus demonstrating the affective basis of early friendships. No differences were found between…

The Lekotek, a toylending library program for mentally retarded children which started in Sweden, has expanded to serve families with disabled children in Evanston, Illinois. The Lekotek procedure involves a parental interview to determine the child's needs and family visits in which a Lekotek leader has a one-hour session with the child and then…

The study examined actual communicative expressions of five 3-year-old profoundly, prelingually deaf children and their mothers, along with nonverbal contextual information. Each subject was videotaped in the home while interacting with the mother in toy play and usual daily activity. Results identified more than 4,500 communicative expressions,…

The study was designed to explore whether learning a phoneme in a word-final position facilitated production of the same phoneme word medially or intervocalically in six 3 to 5 year olds with articulation disorders. A stimulus-response-reinforcement approach to treatment was used that elicited both imitative and spontaneous responses. Probe lists…