An Evaluation of the Social and Personal Competence of Special Needs Early Intervention Graduates.

A study evaluated the effectiveness of the Stephen August Early Intervention Center in Cheshire, Connecticut, an early intervention center serving children with developmental delays or at risk for developing such delays, and their families. Data on 130 center participants' later special or regular education status, and a teacher rating of students' social competence were obtained. At the time of early intervention, 42 percent of the sample had shown mild developmental problems, 44 percent had shown moderate problems, and 14 percent had shown severe problems. The average number of months of early intervention involvement was 22.6. At the time of the study, the graduates were in kindergarten through third grade. It was found that 102 of the graduates were in regular education classes without special education services, while only 28 were receiving special education services. Results offer strong support for the effectiveness of the center. The early intervention center offers parents an informal play assessment of their child's developmental status by a team of early childhood developmental specialists with whom the parents can discuss their developmental concerns. When children show developmental delays or appear to be at risk for the development of delays, a variety of program options are available. (RH)