This collection chronicles the development of the field of special education through the writings of Samuel A. Kirk and comments by contributing scholars in the introductions to each section. The selections of Kirk's work evidence his contributions to the many domains of special education. The testimony and comments by contributing scholars place…

This second of three manuals providing a functional curriculum for students with disabilities focuses on the development of nonverbal and oral communication skills. An introductory chapter provides an overview of the curriculum and offers guidelines for developing instructional plans for the following two units of study. Unit 1 considers the…

This paper synthesizes innovative practices and ideas for explaining to families the procedural safeguards required by the Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities Program (Part H) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). An introductory discussion stresses that the primary safeguard provided for in Part H is the clear…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of an outreach project of Project SKI-HI, a family-centered, home intervention model designed to provide training to early intervention professionals serving infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with hearing impairments. In the project, an early intervention professional or a parent advisor…

This monograph describes the program of the Language and Cognitive Development Center (Massachusetts), which serves toddlers and school-aged children with autism or other pervasive developmental disorders (PDD). An introduction presents incidence figures, the program's philosophy, the program's approach to assessment, intervention with children…

There is growing consensus among early childhood professionals about the importance of early childhood transition services (activities designed to ensure continuity for young children across different environments, including homes, child care settings, preschools, and schools). Providing such services requires collaboration and linkages among…

This final report describes research projects and other activities of the Kansas Early Childhood Research Institute (KECRI), a multi-investigator, cross-disciplinary Institute focusing on successful transitions for young (birth to age 8) children with disabilities or developmental delays. Interventions were developed, evaluated, and disseminated…

This annotated bibliography identifies resources for families of young children who have disabilities or who are at risk of delayed development. Criteria for inclusion were: materials that are current, generally available, and especially useful for families. For each resource, the information includes the title, author, publisher, publisher's…

This national symposium was held to identify critical issues and "best practices" in providing services for individuals with deaf-blindness and to develop strategies for future actions. The symposium focused on several specific topical areas in an effort to find ways in which resources might be marshalled at the federal, state, local, family, and…

In 1997, the Finance Project convened a roundtable meeting of representatives from organizations who have been working to improve the financing of services and supports to young children and their families; the meeting was convened with the purpose of mapping an agenda for future research, development, and demonstration to support improvements in…

A practicum was designed to provide an intervention for preschoolers who were at risk for academic difficulties. A developmentally appropriate curriculum was used to increase the developmental levels of the children, and training was provided to parents to enhance their parenting skills and knowledge, and consequently to guarantee the stability of…

This document is a request by the Kentucky Department of Education for state legislation to mandate services and provide new state funding for preschool children aged 3, 4, and 5, with handicaps. Preschool services would include special education (center, home-based, itinerant); speech, physical, and occupational therapies; and other related…

The Preparation of Personnel To Provide Special Education and Related Service to Newborn and Infant Handicapped Children program of the University of Vermont offered interdisciplinary preservice programs to train Early Intervention Specialists at either the Master's level (36 credit hours) or the Certificate of Advanced Study level (30 credit…

This booklet reviews the literature and considers applications of Public Law 99-457 (Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments--1986) in developing programs for young children with behavior disorders. The following topics are considered: provisions of the law (states are required to provide a free, appropriate public education to all eligible…

Five bulletins of the National Center for Clinical Infant Programs include articles with the following titles and authors: "Infant Day Care: A Cause for Concern?" (Jay Belsky); "Model versus Modal Child Care for Children from Low-Income Families (Donna Wittmer); "Therapeutic Childcare at Merrywood School" (Maxine Siegel); "Individual Differences…