key words: treatment effectiveness, higher-level functions, handwriting AbstrActThe effects of two handwriting intervention programs for students with handwriting difficulties were compared. Students in grades 2 to 4 were randomly assigned to a sensorimotor intervention (n = 19), a task-oriented intervention (n = 19), or a nontreatment control group (n = 17). Both intervention programs also included "higher-level" functions (e.g., cognitive or executive functions). Handwriting speed and legibility were measured before, immediately after (Stage 1), and 4 months after (Stage 2) intervention. At Stage 1, statistically significant gains in handwriting performance were noted in both intervention groups, but not in the control group. Additionally, the task-oriented group scored significantly higher than the control group in overall legibility. At Stage 2, statistically significant gains were noted in both intervention groups. Thus, although neither program was found to have an advantage in terms of its unique components, it appears that students with handwriting difficulties may benefit from intervention programs that include instruction in "higher-level" strategies to support and enhance their handwriting performance.

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Cognitive-functional group intervention appears to significantly improve daily functioning, executive function, and social functioning for children who demonstrate clinical impairment. Further research with a larger sample, a control group, and follow-up is required.

In an experiment of nature, a normal cohort of parents who were raised under communal sleeping arrangements (CSA) in Israeli kibbutzim are raising their infants at home under home-based family sleeping arrangements. The present study focused on exploring the links between the early sleep experiences of CSA parents and their present sleep-related beliefs and behaviors. In particular, the study assessed whether the cognitions of CSA parents regarding infant sleep differ from cognitions of parents who were raised under home-based family sleeping arrangements. Furthermore, parental soothing methods and infant sleep patterns were compared. One hundred forty-one families participated in this study. The children's ages ranged between 4.5 to 30 months. Parental cognitions were evaluated by two questionnaires. Infant sleep was assessed by a questionnaire and by daily parental reports. As expected, CSA parents were more likely than were control parents to: (a) interpret infant night wakings as a sign of distress and (b) actively soothe their infants at bedtime, co-sleep with them, and report more night wakings of their infants. These findings support the hypothesis that early childhood sleep-related experiences of parents ("Ghosts in the Nursery") influence their parental sleep-related cognitions that in turn affect infant sleep patterns.