ABSTRACT
Prevention of disability and early intervention for children with identifiable disabilities is a theme for this decade and the 21st century. Strong theoretical and empirical foundations now serve as a base upon which to build social policies and intervention programs that may reduce the threat of disability, or lessen the effects of existing disabilities, for individuals, families, and society. Clearly, this is a movement whose time has come. In fact, the appearance of this chapter in this text on research related to mental deficiency and disability indicates the academic community’s increased interest in prevention and early intervention. Neither of the first two editions contained such a chapter.
