ABSTRACT
Contemporary interest in early childhood intervention for young children with developmental disabilities or developmental delays can be traced to the 1960s (see Caldwell, 1970; Shonkoff & Meisels, 1990). This interest was, in part, the result of findings from studies of young children and their families experiencing multiple risk factors (poverty, low parent educational achievement, singleparent household, poor housing, etc.) where early childhood intervention (at the time called infant stimulation, early education, or early enrichment) was found to promote and enhance child learning and development compromised by the risk factors (e.g., Karnes, Teska, & Hodgins, 1970; Tjossem, 1976). It was shortly thereafter that the potential value of early childhood intervention for promoting and enhancing the learning and development of young children with identified disabilities, significant developmental delays, and children at risk for poor developmental outcomes due to medical conditions or biological risk factors began to appear (e.g., Barrera et al., 1976; Cooper, Moodley, & Reynell, 1974; Denhoff, 1981; Scarr-Salapatek & Williams, 1972).
