This study investigated parents' and health care providers' perspectives of their communicative interactions when a seriously ill infant is treated in an intensive care nursery. Both parents and health care providers stressed the importance of keeping parents informed of their child's condition. Concerns regarding the provision of medical information to parents in an understandable manner, the lack of time health care providers have to spend interacting with parents, and the possibility that parents' emotional involvement interferes with their understanding of the child's condition were raised. Implications for pediatric health care providers relative to their interactions with parents of young chronically ill children are raised.

With classrooms becoming increasingly diverse due to children's various cultural backgrounds and varying abilities, early childhood teacher education programs face the challenge of how best to prepare the workforce. Various initiatives have been implemented in teacher preparation programs to prepare early childhood educators to become competent in relating to all children and families. Infusing components of diversity into all courses and field experiences and engaging in community-university partnerships, as well as unifying early childhood education (ECE) and early childhood special education (ECSE) program components, are promising practices for the field. An examination and evaluation of these initiatives are discussed in this article, as well as future directions for research and practice.

This research study investigated consumers' viewpoints of current early intervention services and how they should be changed Parents and professionals were surveyed regarding the family-centered provisions of Public Law 99–457. The survey focused on consumers' perceptions of (a) accessing infant services, (b) delivering infant sewices, (c) identifying family priorities and resources, (d) developing and implementing individual family service plans (IFSPs), and (e) coordinating services. The major concerns of parents and professionals related to accessing services, developing IFSPs, and coordinating sewices.

This article describes family well being after a child's intensive care nursery experience. Thirty families of children who were graduates of intensive care nurseries participated in the study. Fifteen families of children with identifiable disabilities and 15 families of children with no identifiable disabilities were interviewed and completed standardized questionnaires. A comparison of family well being was done across three dimensions: the child's characteristics and caregiving needs, the family's support resources and needs, and the family's values and beliefs regarding their child's hospitalization and resulting special needs. Both groups of families had realized a renewed sense of meaning concerning family, children, and life itself due to their child's medical crises or disability. Families of children with disabilities, however, noted their financial concerns, burdens with their child's caregiving, and their difficulty in locating services for their child. These families' experiences underscore the need for a coordinated transition from the hospital to the community for the family and child.

This article reports research findings of an interview study conducted with parents of young children with special needs. The research was conducted to assess parental perceptions of infant and family services as proposed in P.L. 99--457. Parents emphasized their need to become knowledgeable about their child and about available services. They also stressed the importance of professionals relaying information and empowering families to become their own decision makers. The focused interview approach used in the study also is discussed as a family assessment strategy.