Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-v5vhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-22T13:54:01.569Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Beyond early intervention: An initial followup of children who participated in an early intervention program in a Queensland provincial city

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2016

Andrew Hawke
Affiliation:
Fred and Eleanor Schonell Special Education Research Centre, The University of Queensland
Alan Hayes
Affiliation:
Fred and Eleanor Schonell Special Education Research Centre, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072

Abstract

This paper reports a follow-up study of the educational progress of three cohorts of students who left an early intervention program operating at a Special Education Developmental Unit (SEDU) in a large provincial city, in Queensland, during 1989, 1990 or 1991. The purpose of the research was to evaluate some aspects of the short to mediumterm efficacy of the program. The study aimed to: (a) identify parents’ perceptions of the services offered at the SEDU, (b) track students’ educational placements since leaving the SEDU, (c) evaluate parents’ and current teachers’ perceptions of students’ current educational placements, and (d) identify areas where SEDU services and other educational services could be improved. The results indicate that the early intervention program facilitated the development of children, and that the majority of parents viewed the SEDU services favourably; however, they were not as positive about their child’s rate of progress in the subsequent placement. Half the parents and teachers also reported that children needed more help, or much more help, at school. They identified a clear need for additional support services, in particular therapy programs, in schools. Despite the reported need for additional support services to schools, the study showed that the majority of students who left the SEDU were placed in regular education settings and were maintained in these regular schools. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for policy, practice and research.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Australian Association of Special Education 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bettison, S. (1988). Overview of early intervention in Australia - 1986. In Pieterse, M., Bochner, S. & Bettison, S. (Eds.). Early intervention for children with disabilities: The Australian experience. North Ryde: Special Education Centre, Macquarie University.Google Scholar
Clunies-Ross, G.G. (1988). Early education and integration for children with intellectual disabilities. In Pieterse, M., Bochner, S., & Bettison, S. (Eds.). Early Intervention for Children with Disabilities: The Australian Experience (pp. 97104). Sydney: Macquarie University.Google Scholar
Department of Education, Queensland. (1991). Meeting the Needs: A Review of Early Special Education in Queensland. Brisbane: Department of Education, Queensland.Google Scholar
Edgar, E., Heggelund, M., & Fischer, M. (1988). A longitudinal study of graduates of special education preschools: Educational placement after preschool. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 8 (3), 6174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edgar, E., McNulty, B., Gaetz, J., & Maddox, M. (1984). Educational placements of graduates of preschool programs for handicapped children. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 4 (3), 1929.Google Scholar
Farran, D. (1990). Effects of intervention with disadvantaged and disabled children: A decade review. In Meisels, S.J. & Shonkoff, J. P. (Eds.). Handbook of Early Childhood Intervention (pp. 501539). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Hayes, A., Steinberg, M., Cooksley, E., Jobling, A., Best, D., & Coulston, A. (1981). Special Pre schools: Monitoring a Pilot Project. St. Lucia: Fred and Eleanor Schonell Educational Research Centre.Google Scholar
Hudson, A., & Clunies-Ross, G. (1984). A study of the integration of children with intellectual handicaps into regular schools. Australia and New Zealand Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 10 (3), 165177.Google Scholar
Karnes, M. B., Schwedel, A.M., Lewis, G.F., Ratts, D.A., & Esry, D. R. (1981). Impact of early programming for the handicapped: A follow-up study into the elementary school. Journal of the Division of Early Childhood, 4, 62–79.Google Scholar
Koen, S., Musumeci, M., & Toole, A. (1982). The long-range effects of the Regional Demonstration Program for preschool handicapped children. Journal of the Division of Early Childhood, 6, 73–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, G.F., & Ferguson, C. (1988). Evaluating early intervention programs: Methodological case study. In Pieterse, M., Bochner, S., & Bettison, S. (Eds.). Early Intervention for Children with Disabilities: The Australian Experience (pp. 351364). Sydney: Macquarie University.Google Scholar
Linfoot, K. (1992). The delivery of early intervention services for infants and preschool children: A ten-year retrospective. The Australasian Journal of Special Education, 16 (1), 4247.Google Scholar
Pieterse, M. (1988). The Down Syndrome Program at Macquarie University: A model early intervention program. In Pieterse, M., Bochner, S. & Bettison, S. (Eds.). Early Intervention for Children ‘ with Disabilities: The Australian Experience (pp. 8196). Sydney: Macquarie University.Google Scholar
Pieterse, M., & Center, Y. (1984). The integration of eight Down’s Syndrome children into regular schools. Australia and New Zealand Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 10 (1), 1120.Google Scholar
White, K.R., & Mott, S.E. (1987). Conducting longitudinal research on the efficacy of early intervention with handicapped children. Journal of the Division of Early Childhood, 12, 13–22.Google Scholar