Early Intervention for Latino Families Project
About
The purpose of this research project was to study an alternative service delivery model for infants, toddlers, and their families who were eligible for early intervention services under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The families involved in the project were of Latino heritage and used Spanish as their preferred and dominant language. Primary consideration was given to the cultural beliefs and values of the families and how these factors influenced parenting behaviors and outcomes of children.
The project included children with various types and levels of disability and behavior and families of differing socioeconomic status, all of whom were English language learners. Two types of service delivery models were compared to determine their effect on learning with a strong focus on how they influenced English language use and proficiency.
These models included:
- traditional early intervention
- early intervention designed to promote language learning (English acquisition) within family-defined activity settings.
(Activity settings are the experiences, opportunities, etc., that take place (planned or unplanned) in different home and community environments.)
The Early Intervention for Latino Families Project was a three-year (1998-2001) research study funded through a field-initiated grant awarded by the Office of Special Education Programs, US Department of Education. This project represented a collaboration between the University of Connecticut Health Center Division of Child and Family Studies and the Orelena Hawks Puckett Institute in North Carolina.
Contact
Gabriela Freyre-Calish, M.S.W.
University of Connecticut
Center for Developmental Disabilities
263 Farmington Ave.
Farmington, CT 06030
860.679.1563
freyre@nso2.uchc.edu
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