A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Audience Approved by JDRP for children with disabilities, birth to age 5.

Description The Multi-Agency Project for Pre-Schoolers (MAPPS) is a home- and center-based intervention program for infants and preschool children with disabilities and their families. The MAPPS model enables parents, paraprofessionals, and teachers to intervene successfully with a minimum of training. To accomplish this, parents and other personnel are trained to use specific, detailed curricula as a guide for teaching young children. In addition to home-based training, the MAPPS model enables delayed children to be mainstreamed into existing preschool and day care services by training staff in specific intervention strategies. Originally, the MAPPS model was designed for use in rural/remote areas; more recently, urban and minority populations, including Native Americans, are using the MAPPS model successfully.

A key component of the MAPPS model is the Curriculum and Monitoring System (CAMS), which covers five curriculum areas: cognitive, language, motor, self-help, and social skills. CAMS covers skills normally learned from birth to five years of age and each skill has been task-analyzed. The curriculum areas are designed to be free of jargon and to allow individual objectives to be photocopied for use by the parents, caregivers, or teachers working directly with the children. CAMS is designed to be a tool for teachers and parents, guiding them in individualizing a child's curriculum and monitoring the child's progress. Because CAMS is a tool, it is meant to be flexible so that individualized adaptations can be made to accommodate:

• The educational philosophy of teachers and families,
  
• The child's cultural background, and
  
• The child's type and level of disability.

The revised CAMS also includes easy-to-use scoring sheets that allow for reassessment of the child's progress in each developmental area. New developmental charts have been developed for use with parents to provide a broad overview of a child's development.

Evidence of Effectiveness Preschoolers who were taught using the CAMS curricula performed significantly better on the Battelle Developmental Inventory than a comparison group who were taught with an alternative curriculum.

Requirements The model can be used by parents, preschools, and any agencies serving infants and preschoolers with disabilities. If the model is adopted by a preschool or an agency, one teacher/monitor is required on a half-time basis to serve approximately 20 children. Speech, O.T., P.T., and psychology personnel should be available for consultation. Training for preschools and agencies consists of one to two days at the replication site depending upon the experience and background of the persons being trained.

Services Awareness materials are available at no cost. Visitors are welcome by appointment. Training workshops are conducted at the adoption site with costs negotiated between the cooperating agencies. The cost of a complete set of the CAMS curriculum which covers the five developmental areas mentioned above is $70. One set is necessary per teacher/classroom. Follow-up visits and telephone consultation are available. A videotape is available which provides a project overview and suggestions for using the CAMS curricula.

Contact

Glendon Casto, Director, Utah State University, Center for Persons with Disabilities, Logan, UT 84322-6580. (801) 750-2000.

Developmental Funding: USOE BEH.
JDRP No. 80-7 (6/17/80)
Recertified (4/1/94)

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[Mainstream Amplification Resource Room Study (MARRS)]

[Programming for Early Education of CHildren with Disabilities (PEECH)]