Predictors of Service-Delivery Models in Center-Based Early Intervention

Abstract

This study examined the perceptions of early childhood intervention professionals toward the integration of special services into regular classrooms, rather than through segregated, pullout approaches. A mail survey of occupational therapists, physical therapists, special educators, and speech-language pathologists asked (a) what practitioners perceived as their typical and ideal practices and (b) what influenced their choices of service-delivery models. Multiple-regression analyses were used to determine how choice of models for different situations predicted the extent to which respondents used integrated practices. Results showed that special educators were most likely to use and favor integrated services, followed by occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and physical therapists.