Early Intervention for Preschoolers with Developmental Delays: The Case for Increased Child Collaboration

In this article are analyzed the four following premises that explain why early intervention programs for preschool children with mental retardation (and other disabilities) have tended to adopt a teacher-directed “cultural transmission” or remedial model of education, whereas preschool programs for children without disabilities have generally preferred a more child-directed “developmental” model. (1) The purpose of early intervention is to accelerate and remediate, rather than support, cognitive growth. (2) Learning and accountability are maximized by specific instructional objectives written into educational plans rather than by encouraging children's own constructivist efforts. (3) Children with retardation are defective, not just slow but otherwise normal and so require extensive adult direction. (4) Research findings are favorable rather than ambiguous towards demonstrating the effectiveness of existing instructional methods. The four premises are reviewed and critiqued. It is concluded that there is sufficient doubt about the cultural transmission remedial model to justify further expansion of the developmental approach in early intervention programs, at least for some children in some areas. Changes in attitudes and practices that such an expansion would entail are discussed.