To produce and evaluate a language development program for culturally deprived preschool children based on characteristics of Piaget's theory of intelligence, a 6-week experimental study was carried out in Project Headstart, Starkville, Mississippi. Randomly-selected, 45 Negro Headstart enrollees made up three groups--two were taught the…

To ascertain the efficacy of a program of language and speech stimulation for the preschool cleft palate child, a research and demonstration project was conducted using 137 subjects (ages 18 to 72 months) with defects involving the soft palate. Their language and speech skills were matched with those of a noncleft peer group revealing that the…

The Westinghouse Learning Corporation and Ohio University carried out a study on the impact of Head Start for the Office of Economic Opportunity. The main inquiry of the study concerned the difference between Head Start first, second, and third graders and non-Head Start first, second, and third graders in intellectual and social-personal…

The main service of this project involves early identification of underdeveloped or abnormal behavior characteristics in the preschool-age child and the initiation of an educational treatment plan which ameliorate the developmental problem. Identification of disabled children is made by the two project diagnosticians in nursery schools and Head…

This speech offers a guide to identifying and teaching high-risk children, those who exhibit a lag in development severe enough to be a handicap in learning. The high-risk children focused on are those whose developmental lag is frequently not recognized until they fail in school. The two major areas of neurodevelopmental learning disorders are in…

Suggestions for narrowing the discrepancy between the knowledge base of early communication development and the implementation of effective communication interventions for severely handicapped infants and young children are offered including strategies for facilitating emerging language development, increasing positive interactions with infants,…

Documents how a preschool child learns to read. Identifies what teachers need to know if they are to continue the reader's own discoveries and delight in language. (EL)

Educational programs for the parents of deaf children are described, including a correspondence course, an evening program in which psychologists provide information on child management problems and help in dealing with parents' attitudes, a communication curriculum, and a demonstration nursery school. (DLS)

Describes the creation of a flexible and varied family-school partnership for second-language learning at a Montessori preschool. Highlights how the program provided students with an opportunity to participate in second-language learning in an optimal environment while providing parents access to home-based activities that were in concert with…

A longitudinal study examined the performance of 50 African American children (ages 4-6) from low- and middle- income homes on a reading comprehension test. Preliminary results indicate two measures predicted later reading comprehension for children from low income homes, use of complex syntax and shape matching. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

This article describes a school-based program emphasizing integration of reading, writing, listening, speaking, handwriting, and spelling. Intervention principles, transdisciplinary team methods, and means of enhancing cultural literacy are discussed. Program evaluations indicate growth in all life skills areas, a zero dropout rate, and high…

This article focuses on competencies needed for children's transitions from preschool special education programs to the primary grades, with a focus on literacy-rich classroom environments. The competencies concern: readiness to maximize academic achievement, social skills, and appropriate responsiveness to various instructional styles and new…

Comparison of 29 children prenatally exposed to drugs and 20 children without such exposure in preschool special education programs in New York City found the groups differed in mood, attachment, aggression, attention, movement level, organization and level of play, language usage, anger, and unoccupied behavior. Great variability was found in the…

Reviews more than three decades of empirical research pertaining to the hypothesized influence of parent-preschooler reading experiences on the development of language and literacy skills. Discusses implications of the findings for theory and research on literacy acquisition, for educational practice, and for parental guidance. (TJQ)

Argues there is reason for more optimism concerning the effects of reading to preschoolers than suggested by the Scarborough and Dobrich review in this issue (PS522390). Discusses methodological problems in many studies; cites studies indicating direct and indirect links between reading to preschoolers and reading achievement, suggesting that…