The report examines, from a cognitive developmental view, research on the teachable moment or critical learning period in handicapped infants. The author explains that developmental gaps are produced by a mismatch between the infant's readiness and opportunity to learn. Characteristics and educational implications of specific handicapping conditions (including blindness, Down's syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, amputation, physical handicaps, severe handicaps, multiple handicaps, spina bifida, and deafness) are detailed for the following aspects of development: visual pursuit and permanence of objects, means-ends relationships, causality, construction of objects in space, behaviors relating to objects, imitation, motor development, Stage I of the sensorimotor period and its relationship to cognition, and language development. Emphasized in each discussion is the importance of understanding the effects of the infant's handicap on overall development, designing alternative strategies for minimizing or preventing the effect of the handicap, and recognizing when the infant is ready to acquire information from an interaction. (CL)