A prevention and early intervention mental health program for disadvantaged pre-school children

In this study, 155 disadvantaged pre-school children, ages 3 to 6, were screened for developmental delays using the Cooperative Pre-school Inventory as the primary evaluation tool. Thirty-eight children participated in the experimental group and 20 children were designated the control group. Experimental group children received developmental therapy and their regular classroom experience. In addition, intervention was provided to parents and teachers in order to affect the child's total environment more positively. The control group received only classroom experience. Sixty-five percent of the control group passed the Cooperative Preschool Inventory per-test compared to 50 percent of the experimental group. On the Cooperative Preschool Inventory post-test, 100 percent of the experimental group passed, compared to only 85 percent of the control group. These results suggest that for disadvantaged children early intervention of developmental therapy and classroom experience help eliminate their developmental delays and provide them with age-appropriate developmental skills.