Ramey & Ramey (1998)

1. Ramey & Ramey (1998) Early Intervention: activities designed to enhance a young child’s development • Initial evaluation of child’s abilities and needs (in context of family) • Appropriate resources and services • Monitoring and evaluation of development and changes • The risk for mental retardation and poor school readiness is highest among children from the lowest SES background.

2. Poor school readiness predicts • low level of academic achievement • grade retention (depending on school policy) • special-education placement • school dropout • These children are at risk for • teen pregnancy • juvenile delinquency • unemployment • social dependency • becoming poor parents • having children who repeat the pattern

3. Levels of Intervention to Promote Change Family level housing income lifestyle Parental level job training management skills adult education Child level early childhood education specific therapies

4. Principles of Program Efficacy Developmental timing – interventions that begin earlier and last longer are more beneficial Program intensity – more intensive programs produce larger positive effect Direct provision of learning experiences – direct experiences show larger and more enduring benefits than do intermediary routes, e.g., parent training

5. Principles of Program Efficacy Program depth and flexibility – comprehensive services using multiple routes have larger effects than narrower interventions Individual differences in program benefits – children with different risk factors may need different programs to reach similar outcomes Environmental maintenance – positive effects will be lost if environmental supports are lacking

6. Contemporary Issues Timing and content variations Differential risk and differential response to treatment Lasting effects (or lack of) and mediating variables Cultural congruence Relation between developmental science and public policy

7. Ramey & Ramey (2004) Important program characteristics • Having a well-specified program • Programs that are at least a half day • Starting early in child’s life, strong communication between children and adults • Focus on cognitive, language, and social development

9. Developmental priming mechanisms Encouragement of exploration Mentoring in basic skills Celebration of developmental advances Guided rehearsal and extension of new skills Protection from inappropriate disapproval, teasing or punishment A rich responsive language environment Guidance and limitation Lack of exposure to these mechanisms negatively affects brain development and maturation within cognitive, language and social domains

10. The Abecedarian Project & Project CARE Children 6 weeks to 3 years, biologically healthy children from poor, uneducated families Parent involvement Control Groups (follow-up group) Treatment group who received early childhood education program called Partners for Learning Focus on adult-child interactions in 31 child development areas IHDP: Infant Health and Development Program Modified program for low birth weight infants Early Intervention Randomized Control Trials

12. Similar positive effects in IHDP site 17/18 comparisons at 36 months across all three projects support the hypothesis that intensive early intervention is associated with higher cognitive performance compared to controls Greatest effects for those at most risk, from less educated mothers. Abecedarian Project and Project CARE continued till children entered kindergarten, and the positive effects persisted.

14. Follow-Up IHDP effect on cognitive abilities washed out, by 5-8 years no long statistical differences in IQ. Abecedarian sample was followed up at 8, 12, 15, and 21 years. Still had significant effects on IQ Strongest effects on reading and math.