The growing prominence of ecological and social systems perspectives in the child development and family studies fields is having a significant impact on the conceptualization and delivery of early intervention services. The exclusive focus on the handicapped or developmentally delayed child is gradually giving way to a much broader focus on the family as a system. The parent-child relationship is increasingly becoming a major intervention target. At the same time, the need to fine-tune intervention programs to respond to the unique needs of different etiological groups is being emphasized. This book brings together the conceptual and empirical work of a number of scholars whose current research is at the leading edge of these shifts.

The volume consists of an introductory overview of transitions occurring in the early intervention field, a six-chapter section dealing with current themes and conceptualizations of early intervention, and a four-chapter section focusing on international perspectives that describes influences on and noticeable trends in early intervention programming and research in several countries. This book by its nature has an international appeal--but perhaps more significantly it affords American researchers a unique opportunity to learn about the field of intervention as practiced in other lands. The volume is intended for researchers, graduate and senior undergraduate students, program developers and administrators in the early intervention field, and other human service professionals.

This volume brings together original papers by international scholars and practitioners on the question of the effects of parent interaction with developmentally disabled children. The contributors present evidence that the quality of parent-child interaction differs in the families of disabled children and that this interaction may make the symptoms more or less pronounced. For example, a strong pattern of parent-child interaction appears to reduce the disability in handicapped children, even in cases of Down's Syndrome. Many of the chapters pose provocative questions and provide insightful directives for future theorizing and research on family interactions involving developmentally disabled infants and children.