Patricia F. Vadasy

Grandparents of Children with Special Needs: Insights into Their Experiences and Concerns:

Families with young handicapped children have special needs for instrumental and emotional support. Many of these can be met within the family system. The role of grandparents is often overlooked, yet not only are they affected by a grandchilds handicap, but they often have resources that can strengthen the family. This article reviews findings on grandparents and reports the responses of participants in a grandparent workshop.

Supporting fathers of handicapped young children: Preliminary findings of program effects*

The rationale for and history of an innovative program designed to meet the special needs of fathers of young handicapped children are described. The Supporting Extended Family Members (SEFAM) Fathers Program provided fathers with both a regular source of information about their child and access to professional and peer support. The program was evaluated by monitoring changes both of fathers who participated in the program and their wives in the following domains: stress, depression, and support systems. Research measures are described which were designed to assess changes in these targeted domains. Preliminary results indicated that parents who participated in the pilot program reported lower levels of stress and depression and higher levels of satisfaction with social support than parents who were newly enrolled in the program. The findings are discussed in light of possible mediating factors for the observed results. Recommendations are made for improving the quality of data on the effects of early interventions on family members.

Siblings of Handicapped Children: A Developmental Perspective on Family Interactions

Research on the impact of the handicapped child on siblings has indicated several sibling characteristics that are associated with increased sibling vulnerability to stress and other problems. The identification of sibling risk factors, in and of itself, however, does not help us understand differences in sibling outcomes. A transactional framework describing family interactions and their effects on the familys development is presented in order to examine ecological variables influencing family adaptation.

Measurement Issues in Studies of Efficacy.

As the goals of early intervention have broadened, it is appropriate that measures used to document efficacy be re-evaluated. This article reviews briefly trends in the use of outcome measures, beginning with IQ and other developmental tests that focus on the child. Two recent reports are reviewed which illustrate the problems of relying solely upon child outcomes as measures of program efficacy. Measurement approaches for researchers and practitioners are suggested that take into consideration the transactional nature and impact of early interventions upon the child and family system.

Involving Fathers of Handicapped Infants: Translating Research into Program Goals

While most early intervention programs for handicapped children that involve parents focus on the needs of the handicapped childs mother, the research indicates that fathers play an important role in their childs development and often need help learning how to adapt to the birth of a handicapped child and to foster the childs development. Our increasing understanding of the paternal role and the special needs of fathers enables us to suggest activities for programs to offer for fathers of handicapped young children.

Affect, Cognition, and Play in Young Children with Down Syndrome: An Overview of Recent Research

This article summarizes the recent research literature on affective and cognitive development in young children with Down syndrome. Researchers agree that affect and cognition seem to be as closely Interrelated in children with Down syndrome as they are in nonretarded children. In addition, the overall findings indicate that, during the first two years of life, children with Down syndrome experience significant delays in regard to the development of both affective and cognitive responses. These findings have important implications for parents and educators who must select those objectives and strategies that enhance affective and cognitive development by providing opportunities for handicapped infants to react to and explore their environments, especially during play activities.

Preparing Early Childhood Special Educators for Rural Settings An Urban University Approach

Professionals who deliver early childhood special education services in rural areas commonly encounter problems and challenges. They must often serve children of diverse ages and with a wide range of handicapping conditions who are scattered over large geographical areas. To compound the problems of serving these children, support services in rural areas are often quite sparse. To prepare early childhood special educators to meet the needs of children and families in rural communities, the University of Washington has designed a rural track in the masters level training program in early childhood special education. This manuscript reports on the components of that training program, and the results of the first 2 years of teacher preparation, including placement of trainees in rural practicum sites.

A Computer-Assisted Program for Underserved Families.

The Computer-Assisted Program (CAP) Project addresses the needs of educationally underserved families who live in rural or remote areas or who otherwise lack regular access to early intervention programs. The following article describes the components of this model and the use of computer technology to generate individualized child programs and to compile assessment data.

Child Maltreatment and the Early Childhood Special Educator

This article reviews the issues related to child abuse and neglect of most concern to early childhood professionals: incidence and prevalence; factors associated with maltreatment, including child and parent characteristics; mediating factors, including social support; cognitive, emotional, and social sequelae; and policy directions and recommendations for professionals who work with children and families.