Modifying Parent-Child Interaction: Enhancing the Development of Handicapped Children

Abstract

This paper describes the Transactional Intervention Program (TRIP), an intervention curriculum designed to modify patterns of interaction between parents and their young handicapped children. Issues that were considered in designing the program are discussed, and evaluation data on a group of 41 handicapped children and their parents are presented. Data indicate that parent-child interaction is an important and legitimate focus for early intervention. At the same time, the data illustrate the complex nature of parent-child interaction and underscore the difficulty of developing and evaluating interventions designed to modify it.