Early Identification of Children at Risk: An International Perspective - Topics in Developmental Psychobiology 1985 edition

Marc Notes: Based on the Fourth International Conference on Children at Risk, held in the fall of 1984 at Snowmass, Colo.; Includes bibliographies and index. Publisher Marketing: This volume contains contributions that are interdisciplinary and inter- national. The editors believe this is an especially timely and promising enterprise, for both sources of diversity are needed for improving our abilities to identify the young child at risk and to prevent disability. In terms of diSciplines, the volume brings together papers by health care providers (such as pediatricians and public health nurses) as well as educators and psychologists. Each of these groups works in dissimilar settings and faces dissimilar problems: Health care providers seek sim- ple identification procedures for use in busy primary care settings; psy- chologists emphasize well-constructed research designs; and educators reflect the need for early identification and education. Each of these spe- cialist groups has something to offer the other, but too often each tends to limit its publications and readings to its own discipline, thus failing to capitalize on a wider scope. of knowledge and practice. We hope that this selection of papers will allow all readers addressing the early iden- tification of children at risk to generate a more integrated interdiscipli- nary perspective. We also hope this volume reflects the sense of excitement that we feel from a sharing of international perspectives. There is no single ap- proach to the early identification of children at risk that is universally applicable to all countries. In addition, approaches within each country vary because of availability of financial and human resources and dif- fering expectations of local communities.

Contributor Bio:  Emde, Robert N Robert Newcomb Emde, MD, is Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, and currently consults at the Centers for American Indian and Native Alaskan Health at the Colorado School of Public Health. As an early childhood researcher and psychoanalyst, he was a member of the US committee that wrote the guidelines for Early Head Start and was a leader in its seventeen-site national RCT that initiated that program. He is a Past President of the Society for Research in Child Development, and serves as Honorary President of the World Association for Infant Mental Health, as well as on the Board of Directors of Zero To Three: The National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families. Contributor Bio:  Sullivan, Joseph W Sullivan directs the technology development activities of researchers at the Lockheed Artificial Intelligence Center. He received his B. A. and M. A. in psychology from the Universities of Florida and Colorado, and his Ph. D. from the University of Kansas. Contributor Bio:  Sullivan, John I am writing from direct observation and experience. I have had exceptional access to the main character, Father Odilo and his records and memories. Writing this book involved researching and giving expression to many themes and topics that I feel strongly about. It was a rare opportunity to glean so much from a man who had great love of people and acute awareness of his human and social environment. I am the eldest of seven children and have lived practically all my life in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, but have been able to travel widely and appreciate the world at large, without wishing to live anywhere else. My wife and I have four wonderful children and the grandchildren are following on quite fast now. I have never given up hope for our country, although it is hard not to be saddened by the plunder and mismanagement that has escalated to record-breaking heights in the past decades. As a Catholic I have received great inspiration and blessings throughout my life and I have seen first hand the great dedication and benefits that our priests and religious have brought to our country and its people. I am a civil engineer who has experienced the satisfaction of building several bridges, factories, houses and all sorts of structures and steel and wooden products. Writing a book involves many of the same engineering and project management processes, and there is also a tangible end-product that should endure and fulfill a useful purpose.