This article describes primary outcomes of the development and field-testing of a curriculum Promoting learning through active interaction with 27 infants and their caregivers and early interventionists in 2 different states. The curriculum was designed to provide a systematic approach to supporting interactions with infants who have sensory impairments and complex multiple disabilities and who are at the preintentional level of communication. Participating infants had both a visual impairment and hearing loss and additional disabilities. Their families represented diverse socioeconomic, educational, and cultural backgrounds, and participating early interventionists varied widely in their qualifications. Results indicate that a diverse group of families used the strategies successfully and found them to be helpful in supporting their children's interactions and communication development. The article outlines key components of the curriculum and discusses evaluation data on the basis of caregiver feedback on use of strategies and analysis of videotaped observations on the caregivers' use of sensory cues with their infants.
This article presents follow-up results of the Mother-Infant Communication Project (MICP), a program designed to facilitate caregivers' uses of communicative interaction strategies with their infants labeled high-risk. Three groups of mother-infant dyads were included in the study: a group receiving home visits only, a group receiving home visits plus a group experience, and a comparison group. Results showed MICP mothers overall were significantly better than comparison group mothers on the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Scale. In addition, children of MICP mothers who received a group experience in addition to home visits performed significantly better on the Receptive-Expressive Emergent Language (REEL) Scale at 18 months than both the home visits only group and the comparison group. Implications of the findings for intervention efforts are discussed.
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