Grundvig Meeting 1 Norway 2008 September - Sozial

Grundtvig Meeting in Norway 

Kristiansand 

September 3 rd - 6 th 2008 

Cooperation with Parents in Early Intervention 

Life Long Programme COPEI

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Lifelong Learning Programme Grundtvig 

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Grundtvig Partnership Meeting in Kristiansand 

September 3 rd - 6 th 2008 

Cooperation with Parents in Early Intervention 

1. Introduction 

2. Participants 

3. Presentation of the Norwegian System in Early 

Childhood Intervention 

4. Visit to the Habilitation Centre for Children 

5. Visit to a day care centre/kindergarten, 

6. The first meeting with the Grundtvig gzroup 

7. Conference programme 

8. Lectures abstracts 


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1. Introduction 

At the start of September 2008 the 3 countries, Belgium, Austria and 

Norway got their applications accepted by their national Grundtvig 

Agencies. 

3 

The first meeting was arranged in connection with the conference called 

“Early Childhood Intervention in Europe”. The conference was held by 

Sorlandet Support Centre for Special Needs Education in Kristiansand. It 

was a 2-days conference. The first day the topic was “How to make 

differences in Early Childhood Intervention in Europe” with main 

speakers from Europe and USA. The next day 21 different seminars 

were presented with general title “Good Practice in early Childhood 

intervention”. Eleven of the seminars with were presented by Norwegian 

speakers about different approaches, systems, methods and models 

and ten of the speakers came from different European and Russian 

institutions. The conference was open for persons interested in the Early 

Childhood area. The programme and the abstracts from this conference 

are enclosed later in this report. 

The goal for the conference was to be a meeting place for learning, 

inspiration, contact and sharing and gaining experiences. The 

conference was a place for professionals and parents for changing 

experiences from different countries, establishing contact and creating 

network. 

Invited to the conference was the Norwegian National Networking Group 

for Early Intervention for Special Needs Education. The networking group 

was established in 2000 by Sorlandet Support Centre. It is a cross 

sectorial and multidisciplinary networking group with members from all 


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the 19 counties in Norway and there is an annual meeting. The members 

from this networking group had different seminars at the conference. 

We also had cooperation with European Association on Early Childhood 

Intervention/EAICI/Eurlyaid. Many of them contributed with lectures and 

seminars. 

On Sept.5th about 30 members of Eurlyaid visited two institutions in 

Kristiansand, a habilitation centre for children and a kindergarten. A 

doctor’s thesis was also presented for the participants.. 

The last day we met to discuss the further cooperation and planning the 

meetings in the different countries. 

The three partner countries participated in all the activities of the meeting 

and conference. Portugal was invited to join the project and was positive 

to do this and therefore joined the meeting in Kristiansand. 


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2. Participants 

Partner 1: 

De Kangoeroe vzw 

Kasterstraat 81 

9230 Wetteren 

Oost-Vlaanderen 

Belgium 

info@dekangoeroe.be directie@dekangoeroe.be 

Director Dirk Mombaerts directie@dekangoeroe.be 

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Partner 2: 

SHFI Sozial- und Heilpädagogisches Förderungsintitut Steiermark 

Institute for special educational and social promotion 

Blümelhofweg 12a 

8044 Graz 

Styria 

Austria 

www.shfi.at office@shfi.at 

Director Anna Kirchschlager anna.kirchschlager@utanet.at 

President of Eurlyaid Karin Mosler Karin.mosler@chello.at 

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Partner 3: 

Sørlandet kompetansesenter 

Sorlandet Support Centre for Special Needs Education 

Gimlemoen 19 

4630 Kristiansand 

Norway 

http://www.statped.no/sorlandet sorlandet@statped.no 

Senior Adviser and Speech Therapist Monica Ingemarsson 

monica.ingemarson@statped.no 

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Invited partner, partner 4: 

Cooperativa de Educação e Reabilitação de Cidadãos Inadaptados 

de Montemor-o-Novo 

Crespa da Figueira 

7050-001 Montemor-o-Novo 

Portugal 

http://www.ipforeveri.blogspot.com/ 

Cristina Saloio, Social worker 

Luísa Trindade, Service Coordinator mariatrind@gmail.com 

Ana Serrano, Auxiliary Professor, Institute of Child Study, University of Minho 

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anamserrano@gmail.com

3. Presentation of the Norwegian System in Early 

Childhood Intervention 

Sørlandet Support Centre for Special Needs Education 

Sørlandet Support Centre is a resource centre for complex learning 

difficulties and a unit of the Norwegian Support System for Special 

Needs Education, Statped. Sørlandet Support Centre has had the 

national responsibility for Early Childhood Intervention. 

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Early Intervention 

and 

Special Needs Educational 

Delivery Systems 


Monica Ingemarsson and Kirsten Ruud 

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Norwegian Support System for Special Needs Education 

Sørlandet Resource Centre 

New immigants immigrants 3% 

Kirsten Ruud Monica Ingemarsson 

kirsten.ruud@statped.no 

monica.ingemarsson@statped.no 

•4.6 million inhabitants 

•19 counties 

•433 municipalities 

Sámi population 




1,7 % of the population 


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A country with many few cities, many small villagege, fjords, small , big 

mountains and 

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Småbyer 




Many families spend much of there spare time outdoor. Children in 

Norway are born with ski on their feet! 





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Salary 

– 80 % 54 weeks 

– 100% 44 weeks 

Maternity leave 

Both cases 

6 weeks only for the father 




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Trend more fathers share the maternity 

leave with mothers 

Kindergarten/day-care centre 

A goal is: Access for all children 

2007 84% 1-5 years, 3-5 years 94% 

About 50 – 50 % kindergartens are run by the 

municipalities and private organisations 

Private kindergartens are economically publicsupported 

and under control, and they are under 

supervision of the municipality authorities. 

All children have access to the private kindergartens 




Kindergarten/Day Care Centre 

Groups an example 

under 3 years of age 14 children 

– 2 preschool teachers 

– 2 assistants 

Opening hours 07.00/07.30-16.30/17.00 

All children with SN have access to 

kindergarten 





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How much does it cost? 

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Kindergarten charge is max. € 268 

– Low income less 

– Parents do not pay for the time the children 

get SNE 

Special Needs Education and other 

support for children with special 

needs are free of charge 

Oslo 







Framework 2006 

Kindergarten Act 

General/overall learning vision 

The parliament building 

Teach the children to democracy 

Humanistic view of human life 

Children by law have the right to 

participate and make decisions 

Participation from parents in the 

children's daily life 

-Children start at school at the age of 6 

Curriculum 





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Local Responsibility 

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Local authorities have the responsibility for 

providing professional and economic 

resources to children with special needs and 

their families, and also for coordinating the 

support and resources 

The special education that is provided shall 

be planned in cooperation with the pupil and 

the parents of the pupil, and considerable 

emphasis shall be placed on their views 




Special Needs Education 

Applications from the parents 

The municipality authorities take the decision 

concerning special education 

Before decision an expert assessment about the 

needs and suggestion of what should be 

provided (Educational-Psychological Service) is 

made 

Parents are entitled to make a complaint and 

appeal against the decision 





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General information 

Day care centres are often considered as an early 

intervention support 

Children have the right to get special needs education 

from birth 

Children go to mainstream kindergartens (0,5 % in special 

kindergartens) 

Children with special needs often have an assistant (in 

the group and/or for more children) 

Children with SNE are given 2-20 hours of special 

education/week 

Mostly the special education support is given in 

kindergarten, not at home 




The Educational-Psychological Service 

Every municipality must provide an 

Educational- Psychological Support Service 

The EP Service is an advisory body 

– About 285 offices throughout the country 

– 2100 professionals (Multi professionals) 

Provide service for the age 0-18 years ++ 

No specific Early Intervention Support 




The responsibility to provide the plans 

lies in the municipality 

All children with a diagnose/handicap have the right to 

an Individual Plan 

All children with a right to SNE also have the right to an 

individual educational plan. 

Progress and content should be evaluated every 6 

months 

The child and the parents are involved and 

listened to 





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The functions 

Educational-Psychological Service 

All developmental problems/challenges, excluded 

health/medical 

to advice kindergartens/day care centres, 

teachers, parents directly and to follow up 

to give expert statement as a basis for Statutory 

right decision (which releases the funding) 

to monitor and evaluate the situation for pupils 

with special needs 

coordination of support given 




Tasks for the educationalpsychological 

service 

- Learning problems 

- Social and emotional problems (anxiety, 

restlessness, depression, family-related problems) 

- Behavioural problems, bad manners, violence, 

aggression 

- Spoken language problems 

- Physical challenges 




Educational and Psychological Service 

Special Educator 

Speech Therapist 

Psychologist 

Social Worker 

Both parents and kindergartens can get in touch without any 

application, but permission from the parents 





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21 

20

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Habilitation Centres 

Each county (19) 

Age 0-18 years 

Assessment 

Guidance 

Primary Medical view 




Paediatricians 

Psychologists 

Special education 

teachers 

Speech Therapists 

Social workers 

Physiotherapists 

Occupational therapists 

Child Psychiatry Service Child Protection Service 

Each Region (5 regions, 

but decentralised service) 

Age 0-18 

Assessment 

Treatment 

Supervision 

Psychologists 

Doctors 

Special educators 

Social workers 




Each Region (5 

regions, but 

decentralised service) 

Age 0-18 

Guidance for parents 

Assessment, 

Supervision 

Taking children into 

care 

Social workers, 

Lawyers, 

Psychologists, 

Preschool teachers 


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STATPED 

The Norwegian Support System 

for Special Education 

Svein Erik Moløkken 

Communication Adviser 

Statped consists of 

18 

15 resource centres owned by the Norwegian state 

10 units for special education owned by local 

authorities, county administrations, foundations or 

private organisations from which Statped buys 

services. 

a total of 1000 man-years 

units which are geographically widespread througout 


five regions with similar professional fields and 

services will be established on a long-term basis. 




What is Statped? 

In Norway the main responsibility for customising the 

education lies with municipalities and county 

administrations. 

Statped provides special educational guidance and 

support a wide range of services. 

Statped ensures the best possible quality in the 

training offered people with special educational 

needs. 

Statped is placed under the Norwegian Directory of 

Education and Training in form of autonome units. 





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Søreide kompetansesenter, 

Sandane 

Eikelund 

kompetansesenter, 

Bergen 

Vestlandet 


Bergen 

Lesesenteret, 

Stavanger 

Senter for atferdforskning, 

Stavanger 

Nordnorsk spesialpedagogisk nettverk 

Nordnorsk kompetansesenter, Alta 

Target groups 

- Geilomo skole, Geilo 

Kirsten 

- Sørlandet 

Ruud 


Monica Ingemarsson 

Kristiansand 



Samisk spesialpedagogisk støtte 

Kautokeino 

- Trøndelag kompetansesenter, Levanger 

- Møller kompetansesenter, Heimdal 

- Tambartun kompetansesenter, Melhus 

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- Øverby kompetansesenter, Gjøvik - Torshov kompetansesenter, Oslo 

- Bredtvet kompetansesenter, Oslo 

- Huseby kompetansesenter, Oslo 

- Skådalen kompetansesenter, Oslo 

- Berg gård skole, Oslo 

- Voksentoppen skole, Oslo 

- Solberg skole, Sandvika 

- Sunnaas sykehus skole, Nesoddtangen 

- Briskeby HLFs skole og kompetansesenter, Lier 

- Nedre Gausen kompetansesenter, Holmestrand 

- AKS, Andebu Kompetanse- og Skolesenter, Andebu 

- Lillegården kompetansesenter, Porsgrunn 

Statped´s 

25 units 

Clients 

– Municipalities and county administrations 

Users 

– Children, young people and adults with significant and 

special educational needs and their families 

Collaborators 

– User organizations 

– Professionals in municipalities and counties (e.g. school 

psychology services, health and social services, habilitation 

and rehabilitation services, child and adolescent psychiatry, 

technical aids centres, etc.) 

– Professionals attached to universities in Norway and abroad 

– Other professional environments in Norway and abroad 




Professional fields 

Hearing impairments 

Visual impairments 

Deaf-blindness 

Complex learning difficulties 

Social and emotional disorders 

Language, speech, reading and writing difficulties 

Disorders of mathematics 

Early childhood intervention (0–5 years of age) 

Acquired brain damage 





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Services and tasks 

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Give professional support 

– Provide professional support upon request in the field of 

special education. 

Develop and convey new knowledge 

– Develop competence in special education for the benefit of 

pupils with severe and special needs, guardians, teachers 

and other professionals in the school system. 

– Convey knowledge and expertise in the field of special 

education to users, professionals and society. 

Ensure that hearing-impaired pupils and deaf-blinds are 

provided with educational and social facilities according to 

contract with municipal and county administration. 




Service profile 

Statped provides services at individual-oriented and 

system-oriented levels for the arrangement of 

educational facilities, by means of contractual 

cooperation. 

Emphasis will be placed on developing services with 

the requirements of the municipalities and the county 

authorities. 

Upon request, Statped shall offer special expertise 

that cannot normally be expected to be available at 

the municipal level. 




Application for services 

The services of the national support system are 

normally free of charge. 

However, fees are charged for certain courses and 

training schemes. Applications for courses is made 

directly to the institution concerned. 

Regardless of where in the system somebody makes 

their first enquiry, they are entitled to receive 

information and guidance about which unit to contact 

to receive relevant services. 





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31 

30

http://www.statped.no 




21 

Norwegian Support System for 

Special Education 

The municipalities/counties does not 

have the necessary competence 

regarding the needs of so called low 

incidence groups. 




Our main Aim 

The Norwegian Support System for 

Special Education aims to ensure 

equivalent, locally based training 

provisions for all users on their own 

terms by means of a high level of 

competence in special education 

within a national network. 





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22

Next step for help 

22 

If the municipality does not have access to 

the competence needed, they can ask for 

support in the county, and if they do not 

have the educational competence they can 

ask for support from the Norwegian 

Support System for Special Education 

The support should be given as close as 

possible to the user. 




System Level and Individual Level 

The support centres are working with both 

approaches 




Support System for Special 

Education 

Resource Centres 

All ages 

Supervision 

Guidance 

Competence 

building 




Special Educators 

Speech Therapists 

Teachers for hearing 

and visual impaired 

Psychologists 

Social worker 

Physiotherapist 

Occupational 

therapists 


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27 

24

23 

System Level and Individual Level 

Guidance, consultancy, counselling 

Dissemination 

Network building 

Research and development 

The national support system is meant to assure 

the quality of the education by offering 

counselling and support to schools, 

kindergartens and the local educationalpsychological 

service. 




Sørlandet Resource Centre 

Regional centre for 

–Complex learning challenges 

–Social Emotional challenges 

Special team for 

Early Intervention for Children 

with Special Needs Education 

K 

R 

I 

S 

T 

I 

A 

N 

S 

A 

N 

D 








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32 

30




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Team 

Early Childhood Intervention 

for Children with Special 

Needs 

(0-5 years of age) 

About 8 employees 

Specialist learning support teachers 

Speech and hearing therapists 

Psychologist 

Social worker 

Occupational therapist 

Our focus 

The Child and the Family 

Partnership and Empowerment 

The strengths and possibilities 

the dyadic interaction 

Brofenbrenner 

Vigotsky 

Stern 

Trevarthen 

Using Marte Meo reflections 




National Network 

2 professionals from each of our 19 

counties 

–Cross-professional 

–Cross-sectoral 

Their own desire, not appointed 

Run by the EI department 





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34 

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What are we offering: 

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Coordinating the network 

Issuing a network guide 

Arranging conferences for the network 

and taking the expenses for 

travelling/hotel 

Publishing ”Network News” 4 

times/year 

Running a electronic conference for the 

network 




Some results: 

Giving/getting information about what is going on 

Using each other lecturing at conferences all over 

the country 

Using each other when starting projects 

Visiting others place of work 

Getting to know key persons only heard about 

Getting small advices and being communication 

partner 

Relationship, having fun, meeting each other 

again and again 

And for us it's important to have ambassadors out 

in the country 




Conferences 

”The small child and the great possibilities” 

The Child in communication with its environment 

350 people 

3 days 

25 speakers 





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39 

44

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Model for guidance and diffusion of competence 

Developing language and communication 

“Model of Karlstad” 

Meeting local authorities, parents and other resource centre 

Coordinator:Educational Psychological Office 

Lecture/presentation for a open group about the programme, viewed in 

light of the theoretical background 

Workshop for 5 selected network groups at the same time, from different 

municipalities, developing the material and guiding/supervising 

Video conferences for each network, with discussion about a video tape 

(about 5/year) 

Seminar/evaluation for all participants, program chosen of the local 

network groups 

Networking between local municipalities 

PARENTS are ALWAYS the Principal partners 




Research and development 

Following up Premature children 

Speech and language training for children with CI 

Implementing 0-3 Programme 

The Karlstad model for speech and communication 

Speech and language training with use of palate plate 

The Family in the Centre 

General movement programme implementing 

Mathematics screening for pre school children 

Research and development about parents with 

children with SN, Web-site 




“Language training network” 

The goal s are: 

- To give the child more people to communicate with! 

- To share the responsibility with their network. 

– How: 

– Parents choose the participants 

– All participants are equal 

– Everyone may get a defined role in the net. 

– Meetings regularly 

– Choosing the goals together 

The child is learning while communicating with other 

people on different arenas, with different roles and 

actors 





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47

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Integration or inclusion? 

Do the included children REALLY get 

suitable education? 

Do they really FEEL included? 

Integration is mostly related to 

resources, equipment and physical 

structures. 

Inclusion is mostly 

related to values, 

attitudes and 

culture. 




The main efforts to have all children 

included in the group 

These challenges have high priority and 

different initiatives are taken to improve 

the skill of the professionals 

(programs, seminars, material) 

Still some places, in large cities, have 

organised so called special kindergartens 

or groups/units in ordinary kindergartens 

No specific Early Intervention Support 

Less focus on: 

• special education 

• diagnosis, categories 

disability, difficulties 

• Organisation, 

economics procedure 




Future challenges 




More focus on: 


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45 

• adapted and inclusive 

education for all pupils 

• possibilities, resources 

and empowerment 

• attitudes, skills, methods, 

general pedagogic 

46

28 

Mørketid 





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4. Visit to the Habilitation Centre 

The Child Habilitation unit, Department of Pediatrics, Sørlandet 

Hospital (HABU) 

During the 2-hour long visit members met three of the staff members for 

information and participants change of experience.. There was also a 

tour around the institution. 

The Habilitation unit is targeting all children and young people from birth 

to 18 years who have a need for specialized habilitation due to 

congenital or acquired disability or chronic illness. In the HABU's area of 

responsibility, this means a need for support to about 2-2,5% of the 

children population and corresponds to approximately 2500 children and 

young people in the region. The service also includes children who are at 

risk to develop permanent disability or chronic illness. 

The Child Habilitation, HABU, unit is part of the specialized health care 

service in Norway and is a nationwide service. 


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HABU offers multidisciplinary specialist services for children and young 

people who are in need of habilitation. The main task is to provide 

assessment and follow-up of children/adolescents and their families. The 

unit will also be a resource for the local service institutions and contribute 

to increased knowledge of and service for children and young people 

with disabilities. 

Services are free, but children over 12 are charged a “patient`s payment” 

with some kind of services. 

The staff consists of psychologists, medical doctors, special educators, 

social workers, physiotherapists, speech therapists, nurses, educational 

consultants and administration staff. In all, there are about 30 members 

staff members at the habilitation unit in Kristiansand. 

HABU for this southern part of Norway is organized into two teams, one 

for children 0-8 years and one for children and young people aged 9 - 18. 

For people over 18 years, there is a corresponding habilitation service for 

adults. 

The work is carried out within interdisciplinary teams around the 

individual child. Each child has a case manager who is a contact person 

and coordinator of the work. The service can be offered both in the 

habilitation unit and directly out in the municipalities. There is also a 

family house in the unit. | 


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5. Visit to a kindergarten/day care centre 

The kindergarten “Læringsverkstedet” (The Learning Workshop) 

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The kindergarten is a private run kindergarten with approximately 20 

units in Norway. The owner of the kindergartens met the members of 

Eurlyaid. In the course of about 1 ½ h the participants were given a 

briefing about the kindergarten´s learning ideas and the participants were 

included in a demonstration on how the children were prepared to work 

with mathematics. 

The slogan for “Læringsverkstedet” is "Playing and learning is fun" and 

the kindergarten has developed an educational concept where children 

play and learn with all senses. The kindergarten is called a workshop 

and each workshop consists of several smaller stations so that kids can 


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be active in different fields of learning. The kindergartens have included 

mathematics workshop, language workshop, a creative workshop and 

motor experiences. There is a focus on outdoor activities and one day a 

week the kids spent in the nearby woods. 

The kindergarten has prepared month-plans to ensure that the 

framework plan´s course content is covered. It uses a "spiral principle" 

where the various topics are repeated periodically. This cycle is 

constantly expanded with new knowledge and new skills. Central to the 

pedagogy of Læringsverkstedet is "Active concept learning" in which new 

everyday concepts are incorporated throughout the children's natural 

daily activities. 

Mathematics is a focus area for the kindergarten and it is developed a 

mathematical system, intended for both kindergartens and primary 

schools - called “Mattelek” (“Math-play”). The material deals with 

mathematical concepts through play and group activities. To develop 

children's curiosity and desire to explore mathematical consepts issue is 

one central idea in these kindergartens. (Photo. Læringsverkstedet) 


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6. The first meeting with the Grundtvig group 

33 

The meeting was held in the lighthouse on Odderoya, a small 

island in Kristiansand Harbour where we had lunch. 

During the meeting we read the application and decided what we 

had the possibility to do. Three countries Portugal, Greece, 

Lithuania did not get support from their agencies in their own 

countries. Some of the items from the application we therefore had 

to omit. 

We planned the next three meetings: 

The first meeting was panned to be held in Gent in week 6 2009 

and prepared with some of our wishes at the meeting. The next in 

Graz was planned to be in May 2008. The third meeting in 

Kristiansand was decided to be in September 2009. Further 

meetings will be planned in the next meeting. 

We got through the motilities and the activities and examined the 

application to ensure that we all had the same information and 

understanding about the project. 

In the evening we invited foreign participators from the conference 

who were still in Kristiansand to take part in the dinner in the 

lighthouse, looking on the islands, on the ferries and boats coming 

and leaving the city. 


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7. Conference 


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Early Childhood 

Intervention in Europe 

3. - 4. september 2008 i Kristiansand

How to make a Difference in Early 

Childhood Intervention in Europe 

3. september 2008 

Niels Henrik Abels hus, Tordenskjoldsgate 68 

Konferanse: 

09.30 

10.00 

11.15 

12.15 Lunch 

13.00 

14.15 

15.30 Coffee 

16.00 

17.00 

19.00 

Opening 

Puppeteer Giert Werring 

Director Dineke Heck Tingstveit, Sørlandet Support Centre for Special Needs Education 

"Early Childhood Intervention at the Start of the 21st Century – some European reflections” 

Prof. Dr. F. Peterander, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Germany 

“A Norwegian Framework for strengthening Infant Mental Health” 

Head of Department Marit Bergum Hansen, National Network for the Study of Infant Mental Health in Norway 

”The Snyder family: Helping Professionals Build Family-Centered Practices” 

Director Marylin Espe-Sherwindt, Family Child Learning Center- Ohio Auxiliary Professor Ana Serrano, University of 

Minho, Portugal 

”Welcome home – creating a good place for the baby” 

Director Dirk Mombart, Kangoeroe Centre, Belgium 

”Fathers of children with special needs” 

Director Leif Nord, Child and youth centre of rehabilitation, Århus, Denmark 

Closing 

President or Eurlyaid Karin Mosler and Head of Department Jarl Formo, Sørlandet Support Centre 

17.15 Guided tour in the city 

20.30 

Reception in the City Hall 

Vice mayor of Kristiansand Mette Gundersen 

We have reservations at the following restaurants: 

Makrellen, Bølgen & Moi, Hartmanns brygge or Sjøhuset (not included in the fee)

Good Practice in Early Childhood 

Intervention 


Sørlandet kunnskapspark, Gimlemoen 19 (University campus) 

Seminar: 

09.00 

10.15 

11.30 

12.30 Lunch 

13.30 

Elena Kozhevnikova, Russia 

"Against separation - early 

intervention in Russia, 

Byelorussia and Ukraine” 

Stefanija Alisauskiene, Lithuania 

"To be a professional in Early 

childhood Intervention" 

Violaine Van Cutsem, Belgium 

“Early relationship between the 

multihandicapped children; 

children and parents” 

Alexander Trost, Germay 

“Drug addicted mothers and 

their babies: Diagnostic Features, 

Interactional Patterns, 

Maternal attitudes” 

Nevenka Zavrl, Slovenia 

“Prechtl's method of assess- 

14.45 

ment of general movements, 

identifying babies” 

15.45 Coffee break 

16.00 

17.15 

17.45 Closing 

19.15 

Maria Luisa Trindade and Ana 

Cristina Saloio, Portugal 

"Step by Step Along with Early 

Intervention - A case study” 

Marta Ljubesic, Croatia 

"Early communication as predictor 

of later outcome" 

Ena Caterina Heimdal, Norway 

“Feeding disorders and prematurity 

- how to meet the challenges” 

Tone Dalvang, Norway 

“Numicon – supporting learning of 

basic mathematics” 

Arlene Temte and Kirstin Bergem, 


“Networking groups for language 

training, Karlstad model” 

Finnborg Scheving, Norway 

“A model for assessment of multicultural/bilingual 

children” 

Karin Mosler and Anna Kirchschlager, 

Austria 

"Insight into the Styrian ECI model 

- two case studies" 

Judit Schultheisz and Piroska Bacso, 

Hungary 

“The Huple program and hydrotherapy 

for premature babies” 

Maria Tzouriadou, Melanthia 

Kontopoulou, Greece and 

Maria Psoinos, UK 

"An early intervention programme: 

the case of two pre-schoolers” 

Departure for Eurlyaid members and National networking group for adventure tour 

Berit Aanensen, Norway 

“Pedagogical/psychological Agency 

– Norway’s formal system for assessment 

and counselling for special 

needs education” 

Margit Aalandslid and Bente Naglestad, 


“Successful transition into school 

for premature children” 

Else Jorun Karlsen, Norway 

“Marte Meo: Interaction, the key to 

life: Seeing possibilities of children 

through video pictures” 

Kirsten Ruud and Arlene Temte, Norway 

“A model for home visiting for premature 

children” 

Grethe Hoven, Norway 

“How to use playing in ECI for children 

at risk” 

Bodil Nordøen and Kari E. Laberg, 


“Imitation - the first step to communication” 

Children with autism and related communication 

difficulties 

Anne Margrethe Rostad and Unni 

Tranaas Vannebo, Norway 

“Information about project ADBB – 

Alarm Distress Baby Scale”


09.00 Visiting institutions for Eurlyaid members Meeting for National Networking Group 

13.00 Lunch 

14.00 Eurlyaid meeting 

Ca. 

19.30 

Departure for Eurlyaid members 


09.30 Eurlyaid meeting 

14.00 Lunch 

Sørlandet kompetansesenter er vertskap for konferansen Early Childhood Intervention in 

Europe. Medlemmer av Eurlyaid, medlemmer av Nasjonalt nettverk for tidlig 

spesialpedagogisk innsats og Sørlandet kompetansesenter bidrar med ulike forelesinger 

og seminarer. Disse spenner vidt fra nye trender i tiden til eksempler på ny forskning, 

case studier, kartleggingsverktøy og metoder for å støtte utviklingen til små barn med 

spesielle behov. 

Sørlandet kompetansesenter er et kompetansesenter for sammensatte lærevansker og 

er en del av det statlige spesialpedagogiske støttesystem, Statped. Sørlandet kompetansesenter 

har hatt nasjonalt ansvar for tidlig stimulering av barn med funksjonshemminger. 

Eurlyaid/European Association on Early Childhood Intervention er en organisasjon for 

personer som har interesse for arbeid med tidlig intervensjon i førskolealderen, med 

medlemmer fra det fleste land i Europa. Les mer på www.eurlyaid.net. 

Nasjonalt nettverk for tidlig spesialpedagogisk innsats ble etablert i 2000 i regi av 

Sørlandet kompetansesenter. Det er et tverrfaglig og tverretatlig nettverk med deltakere 

fra alle landets fylker. 

Målet med konferansen er å være en møteplass for læring, inspirasjon, kontakt og erfaringsutveksling. 

Hovedforedragene og seminarene er av høy faglig karakter med mulighet 

til refleksjon og faglig drøfting. Konferansen er et forum hvor fagfolk og foreldre kan 

utveksle erfaringer fra ulike land, knytte kontakter og danne nettverk. 

Sørlandet kompetansesenter 

Gimlemoen 19 


Telefon: 38 05 83 00 

Faks: 38 02 02 88 

Web-side: www.statped.no/sorlandet

8. Lecture Abstracts 

37 


Copei

EARLY CHILDHOOD 

INTERVENTION IN 

EUROPE 

September 3rd 2008 

How to make a difference in Early 

Childhood intervention in Europe 

September 4th 2008 

Good Practice in Early Childhood 

Intervention

ABSTRACTS FROM LECTURES AND SEMINARS: 

Conference September 3rd 2008: 

”Early Childhood Intervention at the Start of the 

21st Century– some European 

reflections.” 

Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) is a globally recognised support system for children with 

disabilities and developmental delays and their families. Also it seems to become an important 

common feature in educational public policies to strengthen human assets in the society. 

Any discussion regarding quality management, evaluation and effectiveness in Early Childhood 

Intervention must take into consideration the developments over the past 30 years as a 

basis for reflections at the start of the 21st century. No doubt, the goals of ECI changed over 

the years. The reasons are numerous and complex. Particularly with regard to the current 

policy of early intervention there is to state a shift from promoting children with disabilities to 

those children who are economically disadvantaged. 

In this situation some questions have to be answered. First of all: which theoretical concepts, 

empirical results and every-day practice will be the basis for innovative developments in 

ECI? The assumption is that ECI programmes of the 21st Century will be numerous but more 

theoretically inconsistent, more broadly focused, more standardized, and more heavily influenced 

by competition for human services funding than they were in the previous Century. In 

this context some European reflections for future developments on ECI will be presented. 

Prof.Dr.F.Peterander 

Ludwig-Maximilians University 

Department of Psychology 

- Early Childhood Intervention - 

Peterander@lrz.uni-muenchen.de 

Side 2


”A Norwegian Framework for strenghtening 

Infant Mental Health” 

One of the main objectives of the 

network is to develop and validate 

scientific findings with relevance to 

mental health practitioners. Additional 

aims focuses on promoting relevant 

research studies, training of clinicians, 

and to keep parents and politicians 

informed and updated on infant mental 

health issues. 

In addition,the network arranges regular 

conferences and work-shops concerning 

central issues of infant mental health and 

invites researchers within 

the field to present their work. We are 

also currently launching five major 

research projects of our own. 

Head of Departement Marit Bergum Hansen 

Nasjonalt kompetansenettverk for sped- og småbarns psykiske helse.Regionsenter for barn og unges psykiske 

helse, Helseregion Øst og Sør 

Besøksadresse: Gullhaug Torg 4B, 0484 Oslo 

Postadresse: RBUP Øst og Sør, Postboks 4623 Nydalen, 0405 Oslo 

E– mail: mbh@r-bup.no 

The main goals of the Network are as follows: 

1. To develop and validate research results which 

are practically applicable 

2. To contribute to the acquisition of knowledge 

about infant mental health, and strengthen 

existing aspects of the field 

3. To encourage an increase in the production of 

research on issues concerning infant mental health 

Priorities 

Training Health Practitioners in Infant Mental 

Health, a Two-Year Postgraduate Program 

Implemented in Norway 

Implementation of evidensbased instruments 

and programs 

A Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT) Study of Marte 

Meo Intervention of Parent-Infant Interaction 

A Planned Longitudinal Epidemiological Study of 

Children from Age One to Two 

Sustained Withdrawal - An Early Warning Signal? 

Side 3


Side 4 

”The Snyder family: Helping Professionals 

Build Family-Centered Practices” 

In the 1990’s family-centered practice was adopted as the philosophical foundation of the developing field of 

early intervention with young children with disabilities and their families. Family-centered practice includes three 

key elements: 1) Emphasizing strengths rather than deficits; 2) Promoting family choice and control over desired 

resources; and 3) Developing a collaborative relationship between parents and professionals. An everincreasing 

body of research demonstrates that a) families are more satisfied and find family-centered practice 

to be more helpful than other models of practice, and b) family-centered practice is related to a wide range of 

demonstrated benefits for both children and families. 

Despite the evidence supporting its efficacy, many practitioners still are unlikely to adopt and implement familycentered 

practice. Professionals find it difficult to include families even at the most basic levels. Multiple reasons 

have been proposed to explain the lag in implementation, including a lack of effective and available training 

in family-centered practice at both preservice and inservice levels. 

Is it possible to infuse exposure to family-centered practice into preservice training? This presentation will describe 

the rationale and approach of a pos-graduate level early intervention program at a university in northern 

Portugal. 

The Master’s program is a two year pos-graduate full time program, with 120 ECTS, adequate to Bolonha, offered 

at the University of Minho and it is designed for professionals from different disciplinary fields such as, 

education, psychology, therapy, nursing, social work and others, who work in early intervention. The curriculum 

design intends to promote the building of a philosophical value based in training and the infusion of underlying 

principles such as inclusion, family centered practices and transdisciplinary team work. The use of case studies 

is encouraged through out the course in order to help them develop problem solving and family centered competences. 

The Snyder family (1989), developed by P.J. MacWilliam is one of the case studies used in the 

course. It comprises a case study followed by 26 questions to be answered with a Likert-type scale (1-5). Data 

analysis of the Snyder questionnaires done by the students at the beginning and ending of the training will be 

presented and discussed in this session. The evaluation data suggest that by the end of the program, the attitudes 

and knowledge of professionals ready to work in the field of early intervention had shifted from a childcentered 

to a family-centered focus. 

Marilyn Espe-Sherwindt, Ph.D. 

Director, Family Child Learning Center 

143 Northwest Avenue, Bldg. A Tallmadge, OH USA 44278 

mespeshe@kent.edu 

Ana Maria Serrano, Ph.D, Auxiliar Professor, Institute of Child Study 

Campus de Gualtar University of Minho 

Braga, Portugal 

serrano@iec.uminho.pt


“Welcome home– 

creating a good place for the baby” 

Announcement 

• Secretary answers the telephone calls. They listen to the requests and writes down the 

announcement on a simple registration form. 

• Collected information is restricted to the most necessary items 

– Name of the child 

– Date of birth 

– Address 

– Telephone number where we can reach the parents 

– Who referred the parents to us? 

– What is the problem from the perspective of the parents and what do they want? 

– General remarks: for example : 

• home visits in the evening parents both work 

• mother speaks Arabic, she already had two children but they both died ,one 

immediately after birth, they other at the age of 21 months 

• An the end of the phone call, the secretary informs the parents about the intake procedure. Within 

a week the parents will receive a telephone call from the home trainer to make an appointment for 

a first home visit. 

Principles of the announcement 

• Approachable 

• Available 

• Affordable 

• Proximity 

• Respect for the families way of 

thinking, feeling and acting 

• Partnership 

Director Dirk Mombarts, Kangoeroe Centre, 9230 Wettern, Belgium 

E– mail: dirk.mombaerts@dekangoeroe.be 

Rules of announcement 

• We ask that the announcement is done by the parents themselves. 

• Social workers, medical doctors,... can do the announcement at the moment 

that the parents are present in their office. 

• Announcement procedure is short and simple. 

• Announcers speak with one secretary (no annoying transferring). 

• Everyone who answers the phone is trained to registration the 

announcement. 

• On the telephone there is time to listen, we give no advise but we accept 

the feeling from the parents and the way they experience the problems with 

their child. 

• We respect the way parents explain the problems and write down the 

requests in the words of the parents. 

• If its very clear that the requests do not belong to our target group we refer 

parents to the appropriate service. If in doubt we start the intake procedure. 

• Every week the two early intervention 

teams have a team meeting. 

• At the beginning of the team meetings 

the new announcements are divided 

amongst the team members. 

• Two team members, a pedagogical 

and a therapeutically oriented person, 

become responsible for supporting the 

family. 

• At least within a week they make an 

appointment with the parents for a first 

home visit. 

Intake 

Side 5


Side 6 

“Fathers of Children with Disabilities. 

Facts and Thoughts” 

Public and private services for families with children with disabilities are traditionally directed to the children and 

their mothers. The needs of fathers can be missed by services, which are delivered mostly by female professionals. 

Fathers are expected to take care of the mother, who takes care of the child. 

But what characterizes these fathers? What do they do? What do they think? Which differences exist there between 

mothers’ and fathers’ mastering? 

How can the services for families with children with disabilities focus the needs and resources of the fathers’? 

The presentation builds on some international studies and care-programmes and personal experiences with 

counseling for couples, sessions with fathers, individually and in groups during 25 years in Denmark. 

Leif Nord, manager, psychologist, Child and Youth Center, Habilitation, Region Central Jutland, Denmark. 

E-mail: Leif.Nord@ps.rm.dk

Seminars September 4th 2008: 

A1 

09:00 

Name of Lecturer: Elena V. Kozhevnikova, Ph.D Director 


Title of Presentation: Against separation – early intervention in Russia, Byelorussia and Ukraine 

The main goal of developing early intervention in Russia, Byelorussia and Ukraine shared by the staff of St. Petersburg 

Early Intervention Institute (EII) and their colleagues from Arkhangelsk, Novgorod (Russia), Minsk 

(Byelorussia), Kharkov (Ukraine) and Stockholm (Sweden) is to prevent separation between children and parents. 

Experiences and means to achieve this goal will be presented. We look at early intervention in Russia, 

Ukraine and Byelorussia as a question of children rights and human rights in general. One of basic rights of 

children – to live with her/ his parents – is still dramatically violated in our countries. That’s why we are not only 

developing professional programs but also taking part in children rights activities (e.g., EII participation in writing 

Alternative Report to UN on Convention of children rights). There are a lot of myths about disabled children and 

parents (children with Down syndrome have no potential of development, only professionals – not parents – can 

take care of disabled child, there is no use to support ‘bad’ family, etc.). That’s why we work with changing attitudes 

of professionals and general public (excerpts from documentary films will be shown). The term ‘early intervention’ 

became fashionable in our countries but it is often misused by traditional defectology. Thus one of 

our important aims is to collect and spread evidence based knowledge in the field. CIS Early Intervention Association 

has been recently organized to unite our efforts in changing the system of care. Plans of further development 

of EII as an international resource center for Russia and other former Soviet Union countries will be presented. 

We look at international cooperation in early intervention as one of the ways to oppose modern trends 

to re-start cold war. 

Institution Address of lecturer: 

St. Petersburg Early Intervention Institute, ul. Chekhova, 5, St. Petersburg 191104 Russia 

E-mail: 

e.kozhevnikova@mail.ru 

ekozhev@eii.spb.ru 

Side 7


C1 

09:00 Seminar 4 th September 

Name of Lecturer: Berit Aanensen, adviser/special needs educator 

Title of Presentation: ”Pedagogical/psychological Agency – Norway’s formal system for assessment 

and counselling for special needs education.” 

”In Norway teaching shall be adapted to the abilities of individual pupils. Those who either do not or are unable 

to benefit satisfactory from ordinary instruction have the right to special education.” (The Education Act § 5-1) 

“Each municipality and county authority in Norway shall, according to The Education Act § 5-6, provide an educational 

and psychological counselling service (PPT). The service can be organized in cooperation with other 

municipalities or the county authority. 

The service shall assist the school in work on organizational development and development of expertise in order 

to improve the adaptation of instruction for pupils with special needs. The educational and psychological 

counselling service shall ensure that expert assessment is prepared where this is required by the Act.” 

The Act also states that children under compulsory school age with specific need for special education have a 

right to such assistance. (§ 5-7) 

In view of the title of this conference I will focus on preschool children. 

PPT for Haugesund, Sveio and Utsira where I am employed, have had focus on trying to help children as early 

as possible for many years. We believe that early intervention is vital both in order to help the child with its primary 

needs but also to prevent the development of secondary difficulties. Due to this focus we have today approximately 

40% of our new referrals concerning children between 0-6 years. 

The Municipal Health Care centres and kindergartens are our primary partners of cooperation. We meet regularly. 

By giving information and counselling to each other, we are able to meet and help children at a very early 

stage. This is especially related to children, born with a medical or physical difficulty or children who are born 

with complications. In some cases we meet children and their parents at home together with the child care 

nurses or the physiotherapist. This is done to give the parents information about our service and the child’s 

rights by law. 

In carrying out an expert assessment of the child’s difficulties we use observations and formal testing, using for 

instance Bayley Scales of Infant Development. If we see that the child is in need of help, we advise that this 

help is given by teachers with competence in special education. We then follow up the child on regular bases as 

long as it is needed. 

Our office has been strengthened according to the plan of mental health improvement in the municipality. This 

means that also small children, who are in need, may get short term therapeutic treatment. 

Today we know that children are in a vulnerable position when living with parents with mental problems or drug 

related problems. For this reason we are now in the process of starting a family centre in our local community. 

This is a joint venture with other services and is meant to be one of the means of helping children at an early 

stage and prevent the development of serious difficulties. 


PPT Haugesund, Sveio og Utsira, Postboks 2160, 5504 Haugesund, Norway 

E-mail: berit.aanensen@haugesund.kommune.no 

Side 8

B1 


Name of lecturer: Ena Caterina Heimdahl, adviser/special needs educator 


Title of Presentation: Feeding Disorders and Prematurity-how to meet the challenges 

A large group of preemies experience feeding problems subsequent to a traumatic start in life. Some continue 

to have difficulties in childhood and even later.Children with feeding disorders are among the most complex 

pediatric patients and a multidisciplinary approach is needed. The parent or caregiver has to be included in the 

treatment of the child as the most important contributor in handle with the problem. 

It is very important to establish a good dialogue with parents or caregivers. Feeding issues affect every member 

of the family and achieving goals can take a long time and the small achievments can be difficult to register. 

The lecture is rooted in my clinical experience at a rehabilitation unit in Norway, where I work closely together 

with a nutritionist, a speech-therapist, a nurse, and a special educator. I meet some of the newborns already at 

the NICU. (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) 

Others are referred to us, especially in the transition to spoon- and self-feeding. Some current problems will be 

illustrated by videotape. 


Sykehuset Østfold HF, Habiliteringstjenesten, Seksjon barnehabilitering. 

E-mail: enahei@so-hf.no 

Side 9


A2 

10:15 Seminar 4.th September 

Name of lecturer: Stefanija Alisauskiene, Vice Rector/ Professor 

Title of presentation: To be a Professional in Early Childhood Intervention 

Early intervention (EI) services in Lithuania as in many other European countries are based on interdisciplinary 

approach and teamwork. Taking into consideration the fact, that EI professionals working in a teams come from 

different fields and provide with support extremely vulnerable persons (e. g. young age children with developmental 

problems and their families), the requirements for professional competences are very high – professionals 

need to have not only their specific knowledge and skills, but also a common competencies, necessary for 

early childhood intervention (Alisauskiene, 2005; Ambrukaitis et al, 2005; Early Childhood Intervention, Analysis 

of Situations in Europe, 2005). There are many efforts to provide professionals with relevant professional training 

in the field of ECI, but till now there is lack of standardised programs for ECI professional training. 

The aim of the research was to analyse, what kind of competences ECI professionals gain at university bachelor 

and master study levels as well as in-service training courses, and to ascertain how professionals assess 

their preparedness to work in the field by themselves. 

The method of the research: content analysis of documents (certificates of training), answers to the open type 

questionnaires as well as interviews with ECI professionals. Data have been analysed by qualitative and quantitative 

methods. 

Participants: 47 ECI professionals (special teachers, speech therapists, psychologists, pre-school teachers, 

physiotherapists, social workers, pediatricians) and 3 family members took part in the investigation (25 professionals 

presented their training certificates for the content analysis, 19 answered to open type questionnaire, 3 

ECI professionals and 3 parents have been interviewed). 

Conclusions: The contents of professional training of different ECI professionals are different however the competence 

of individual intervention methods dominated in professional training of most ECI professionals. Specific 

functional competences, related to professional function in a team are weakest in comparison with other 

key areas of ECI competences (recognition/detection, joining a family, teamwork, personal competences).The 

deeper and systematic knowledge of ECI professionals are closely connected with very specific sphere of their 

professional role and the target group. According to ECI professionals, the knowledge, skills and wider competences 

they gained not only at university, but in their professional practice as well. Wider personal competences 

connected with personal and professional values are estimated much higher than knowledge and skills by ECI 

professionals as well as by families involved in ECI. 

Siauliai University 

Vilniaus str. 88, LT-76285, Siauliai, Lithuania 

E– mail: 

s.alisauskiene@cr.su.lt 

Side 10

B2 


Name of Lecturer: Tone Dalvang, adviser/special needs educator 

Title of Presentation: Numicon – supporting learning of basic mathematics 

The main ideas in the presentation are developed by the Down Syndrome Educational Trust. In the Numicon 

approach children are offered multi-sensory activities with patterned shapes, rods, number lines, and a broad 

range of everyday experiences and contexts so that their understandings of number ideas are richly varied. 

Children’s calculations are made real by combining patterns, rods and everyday objects representing numbers 

with each other. 

When combining numbers by combining Numicon patterns, children can physically do the calculations. Simultaneously 

they see the effects of their actions and the thinking-with- number-ideas are being gradually developed. 

Most children will need to develop the number ideas in small steps. The Numicon programme of activities has 

been developed to meet these needs. The activities are divided into many small steps. 

The Numicon programme starts with the Foundation activities. Nearly all the activities are designed as games. 

It should be both social and fun to work with the tasks. Every activity contains use of some language. This is 

clearly shown on the activity-cards, who also suggest connections with other activities to broaden the children’s 

concepts. The foundation activities fall into eight broad stages: 

1. Introduction of the Numicon shapes/Recognising the patterns without using number names or numerals. 

2. Putting the shapes in order without using number names or numerals. 

3. Giving number names to the Numicon shapes. 

4. Ordering the shapes and the numerals together. 

5. Recognising numerals and making connections between their varied counting experiences and the Numicon 

shapes. 

6. Grouping counters into patterns. 

7. Relating addition by combining Numicon shapes. Learning vocabulary involved in adding. 

8. Relating subtraction by hiding a part of a Numicon shape. Learning vocabulary involved in subtraction. 

When children are able they can move on to Numicon Kit 1 and 2. In Kit 1 children begin to gain sufficient 

mathematical understanding to understand money and work with simple measures. In Kit 2 children start to 

work with higher numbers and more advanced measures. 

In the parallel seminar the Foundation Kit will be presented, and you will have the opportunity to get to know 

and work together on some of the activities. 

Reference: 

Wing, T. & Tacon, R. (2007). Teaching number skills and concepts with Numicon Materials. Practice, Volume 

12. Issue 1. July 2007. Down Syndrome Research and Practice 

E-mail: 

tone.dalvang@statped.no 


Side 11


C2 


Name of Lecturer: Margit Aalandslid and Bente Naglestad 

Title of Presentation: Successful transition into school for premature children 

Advances in perinatal care have increased the number of premature babies who survive. Most of them grow up 

and manage very well. But unfortunately, an ever-increasing body of research shows that premature children 

are Children at Risk and the risks of medical and social disabilities increase with decreasing gestational age at 

birth. A newly presented Norwegian study, (Moster, Lie and Markestad 2008) concerns the ability of these children 

to cope with the demands of adulthood. An important subject which challenges and involves far more professionals 

than medical staff. 

In the seminar the subject will be handled from the pedagogical side, with focus on possibilities and strengths. 

Six premature children will be presented and you will be invited to follow them from the last year in kindergarten, 

through school start and the first year in school. A model and routines for connecting children, families, kindergarten, 

school and other helping services will be presented. 

You will also bee presented of a project of early homeworking. This project was financed by National Funding. 

Seniorcouncellor/Cand.polit Margit Aalandslid 

Sørlandet resourcecenter, 

Gimlemoen 19 



margit.aalandslid@statped.no 

Bente Nagelstad, 

Teacher, 

Kyrkjebygd school in the municipality of Åseral 

4540 Åseral 

bente.naglestad@aseral.kommune.no 

Side 12

HOVEDOVERSKRIFT 

A3 


Name of Lecturer: Violaine van Cutsem 


Title of Presentation: Early relationship between the multihandicaped children and parents 

The subject of this lecture is based on the following observation: It may happen that the first relationship between 

a child and his parents encounters difficulties due to the disabilities or due to the multihandicap. The 

communication during the interactions between each partner may be ambiguous. For example, the child could 

have some difficulties to send and receive clear messages. Parents have a good intuitive knowledge of their 

child. However they don’t always perceive the message sent by their baby. And when they do, they may also 

not decode them correctly. It may also happen that the message are too tiny or faint: a different breath rhythm, 

a head turns, legs or arm movements are not always perceived as a stimulation‘s answer. And when the sign is 

seen, what meaning could we give to it? Is it just the reaction to the stimuli, a small interest, a sign of fear or of 

comfort? Only the repetition of the stimulation may give the beginning of an answer. It’s difficult to build a good 

relationship when the interactions are not easy. This lack of relationships may create on top of the physical, 

sensorial and mental disabilities another relational handicap. Our job, in the early aid field is thus to create an 

atmosphere that will ease these relationship buildings. In our daily work with the family, we used Daniels Stern’s 

concept of “mutual regulation” in order to create a framework in our support. “The mutual regulation” is a 

dance. It’s a subconscious relational game composed of behavioural, emotional and affective micro-regulations. 

With some examples and with a video, we will try to explain how we support each partner to find the dance 

steps. The child must be able to initiate the interactions and to give clearer answers to the message he perceives. 

To do that he needs to discover himself and to gain more control on his environment. In other hands, 

the parents need to feel good parents. In order to feel competent, they should be able to understand the signals 

given by their child. This will be attained by working on different dimensions: emotions, knowledge and meaning. 

The envy to dance and the pleasure of the relationship is very important. Our experience shows that despite 

the multihandicap, pleasure to dance together is possible. 

Title of presenter: psychotherapist, director of Triangle- Bruxelles (a early support service for children with a 

sensorial impairment) 

E-mail: 

triangle.bruxelles@skynet.be 

violainevanctsem@hotmail.com 

Side 13


B3 


Name of Lecturers: Arlene Temte, senior adviser/ teacher for deaf and hearing impaired children 

and Kirstin Bergem, senior adviser/ speech and language therapist 

Title of Presentation: Networking as a language training model. 

Networking used as a language training model was introduced to us in Norway by Professor Irene Johansson 

from Sweden. Irene Johansson has developed the Karlstad language training model, and this model is used all 

through Scandinavia. Irene Johansson was our supervisor for some time while introducing this model to our first 

families. Since then, we have built up experience, and now we use the model in early childhood intervention 

with children with language difficulties and with children with severe and complex learning needs. 

The model is based on the philosophy of Empowerment where the environment contributes parents to become 

more competent in making decisions and deciding for their child’s learning and education, both matter and form. 

Silent knowledge is brought forth and shared with others. 

The model is also influenced by Urie Bronfenbrenner´s ecological system’s theory. To study a child’s development 

we must observe not only the child, but also the interaction of a larger environment as well. A child’s family 

is the closest, most intense, most durable and influential part of the mesosystem. The family will be taking 

the greatest part in their child’s life and development. But we also know that parents are vulnerable. Being the 

mother and father of a child with severe and complex learning needs, will occupy their thoughts, feelings and 

most of their time for many, many years to come. Parents need someone to share both their joys and their sorrows 

with. They also need to share their responsibility with someone else. Working together, both family and 

professionals in a network group will give parents the opportunity to share both responsibility and matters of 

concern with others. 

A child’s language development is promoted by interaction with people in different roles. The network’s function 

will be to create good opportunities to develop language skills in different environments. Parents decide who 

they consider important for their child, and they invite them to take part in a network group. The participants can 

be teachers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, friends, support persons from swimming, football and 

other activities or others. The participants do not all contribute in the same way, but together they all give the 

child opportunity to achieve knowledge and learn skills in daily life. 

In our presentation and videotapes we will give a summary of how professionals and families can work together 

and how we can form a network group for each child to support him or her in speech and language development. 

The intervention is performed by the network group on a daily basis within the child’s ordinary routines. 

The participants in the network group are all equal, but they help the child to experience opportunities and 

achievement in different ways and in different places. Every network group becomes unique for every child. 

Institution and Mailing Address of lecturers: Sorlandet kompetansesenter, Gimlemoen 19, 4630 Kristiansand 

E-mail: 

kirstin.bergem@statped.no 

arlene.temte@statped.no 

Side 14

C3 



Name of Lecturers: Else Jorun Karlsen, senior adviser/ speech and language therapist 

and Audhild Nonslid, occupational therapist 

Title of presentation: ”Marte Meo”: Interaction, the key to life: Seeing possibilities 

of children through video pictures” 

The ideas this presentation is built on are developed by Maria Aarts, a pedagogue from The Netherlands. She 

has developed Marte Meo programs in cooperation with many different professional groups in many different 

countries, since 1987. 

The name Marte Meo is derived from the Latin “mars martis”, a term used in mythology to express “On one’s 

own strength”. The central focus of the MARTE MEO program is to encourage people to use "their own 

strength" to support and stimulate developmental processes. 

The method refers to recent developmental theories and research regarding the infants’ interactions and the 

crucial importance for development and self-comprehension. The infants have an innate ability to enter into social 

interaction with their care givers and very early they are able to differentiate between human beings and 

objects. ( Trevarthen, Stern) 

Maria Aarts has in detail studied how parents support children’s development in problem-free situations. From 

these studies she generates six elements which she regarded as part of a natural interaction. 

Using video film is an important part when working with the Marte Meo method. 

The advantage of using film is that it gives opportunities to study the interaction between caregivers and children 

in detail. 

In this presentation we will show you film clips from daily interaction situations. To emphasize the six elements 

in the Marte Meo method we will pause on certain sequences in the films to illustrate what these elements deal 

with. 

Institution Address of lecturers: Sorlandet kompetansesenter, Gimlemoen 19, 4630 Kristiansand 

E– mail: 

else.jorun.karlsen@statped.no 

audhild.nonslid@statped.no 

Side 15


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13.30 Seminar 4 th September 

Name of lecturer: Alexander Trost M.D., Prof., Child Psychiatry & Social Work 

Title of presentation: Drug addicted mothers and their babies in Early Intervention: Diagnostic Features, 

Interactional Patterns, Maternal attitudes 

The first months of life provide multiple opportunities but are also very vulnerable towards disadvantageous interactional 

patterns with the baby’s primary caregiver. If the first phase of the relation is severely disturbed – 

which is likely in drug addiction – the risk for an unfavourable psychosocial development including severe mental 

problems as well as drug addiction in the child will rise radiply. In Germany we have 40-50 000 Children of 

illegal drug abusing parents. Until now there is only little support for the mother-to-be and during the first 

months after birth. 

In a controlled study we researched 30 drug addicted mother-child-dyades and 30 control dyads regarding 

these Aspects: 

1. How does the baby cope with his developmental tasks? 

2. How do Mother and Child succeed in matching their Interaction? 

3. Are there typical Interactional patterns in drug addicted mother-baby dyads? 

4. Which attitudes towards their child show the mothers? 

Methods: Video-based interactional Analysis, Working Model of the Child Interview (Zeanah), various Paper- 

Pencil-Tests, statistical analysis. 

The outcomes of the investigation are reported, conclusions for Early Intervention Strategies are drawn, concrete 

suggestions for practical proceeding are given. 

1 Zentrum für Koerperbehinderte e. V.; Moenchengladbach 

2 Katholische Hochschule NW, Aachen (University of Applied Sciences) 

KFH-NW - University of Applied Sciences 

Robert-Schuman-Str. 25 

D-62066 Aachen / +49 2166-859800 (home) 

E-mail: 

a.trost@kfhnw.de 

Side 16

B4 


Name of lecturer: Finnborg Scheving, adviser/special needs educator 


Title of presentation: ” A modell for Assessment of Multi– cultural/bilingual Children” 

In this lecture there will be a presentation of an assessment model recently presented in the norwegian book 

”Minoritetsspråklige med særskilte behov. En bok om utredningsarbeid (Cappelen 2007)”. In former work in 

pedagogical-psychological services, and now as an adviser at Torshov Resource centre in Oslo I use this 

model. The lecture has focus on the assessment model in use with the youngest children. The model is advantageous 

for systemising information that is gathered in the assessment process, to work with hypotheses, and 

to analyze and present the results in a written report. 

The model divide the assessment process in two main parts: pedagogical-adaptive assessment, and diagnostic 

assessment. In the first part one systemise the information about the background of the child and earlier experiences 

and learning environment. A main portion of the first part is assessment and direct evaluation of intervention 

possibilities in cooperation with parents and staff. When the assessment is done systematically in this way 

it is often sufficient for starting necessary interventions, and the second part may not be needed. 

The second part in the model is a more diagnostic or functional assessment. This is a further functional assessment 

of the more specific functions, abilities and needs, and the learning environment of the child. This may 

include use of test or more standardised tools in social, adaptive, cognitive or bilingual areas. Active use of the 

background experiences and bilingual development of the child is used in analysis of results from the assessment. 

The model offer a logical way of presenting the assessment process and results in a written report, including 

use of laws in the conclusion. 

Torshov Kompetansesenter, Postboks 13 Kalbakken, 0901 Oslo 

E– mail: 

finnborg.scheving@statped.no 

Side 17


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Name of lecturers: Kirsten Ruud, adviser/special needs educator 

and Arlene Temte, senior adviser/ teacher for deaf and hearing impaired children 

Title of Presentation: A model for home visiting for premature children 

Research on the long terms effect of prematurity in Norway (Ulvund, Smith, Lindemann 2001) and international 

studies (Bhutta, Cleves, Cradock, Anand 2002) conclude that premature children are in the risk of developing 

long term impacts that can result in motor skill problems, emotional and behaviour problems, speech and 

language problems, attention problems etc. 

To have a premature baby exposes both the child and the family to stress. This is a challenge not only for the 

family, but also for the health service and the educational and psychological services. 

In this session we will present a model for home visiting for premature children. We believe that supporting and 

guiding the families during the child’s three first years of living will contribute to prevent the long term effects of 

prematurity. 

Parents need to feel secure in daily care for their child. Secure and confident parents give their children better 

conditions for developing. By supporting the parents we also support the child. In our project the child and parents 

are offered support by trained professionals when they come home from hospital. After the critical period 

with intensive care in hospital the parents find themselves in a new situation which requires readjustment, 

awareness and sensitiveness for their child’s needs. 

Early intervention can at our point of view promote good development for the child. At an early stage it is impossible 

to predict which premature babies who will develop problems as mentioned above. Accordingly we think it 

is important to offer early intervention to all premature children. 

Our project includes infants with a birth weight of 1500g and less or born before 30 weeks of pregnancy. Home 

visiting is fundamental in our work. We want to support the families on their own conditions after coming home 

from hospital. Home visiting gives us the opportunity to focus on the potentials and possibilities in the child’s 

environment. The parents know their child’s best, and they have a good basis for being important and supportive 

concerning their child’s development. 

The intervention is carried out with support of the “Growing: Birth to three”- programme. (Copa, Lucinski, Olsen, 

Wallenberg 1999) This programme supports our fundamental view concerning the importance of a strong relationship 

and good communicative skills between the parents and their child. The Development guide which is 

part of the programme helps guide observations during everyday family activities. It creates new interests and 

helps sort out questions. Together we explore small steps of the child’s development and we focus on how we 

best can support the child’s learning. During the home visits we take pictures of activities and good social interactions 

between child and parents. We use them in reports that become small diaries where good experience is 

remembered. (Ruud, Temte 2008) 

References: 

Bhutta, AT., Cleves, M.A., Casey, PH., Cradock MM, Anand Kj. “Cognitive and behavioural outcomes of schoolaged 

children who were born preterm: a meta-analysis. JAMA 2002 August 14;288(6): 728-37. 

Copa, A., Lucinski, L., Olsen, E.,Wollenberg, K. ”Growing: Birth to three” Cooperative Educational Service 

Agency 5, Portage Project, USA. Revised printing 1999 

Ruud, K., Temte, A. ”Bilder I veiledningen får frem budskapet” Spesialpedagogikk, Oslo 3.utg. 2007. 

Ulvund SE., Smith L, Lindemann R. “Psychological status at 8-9 years of age in children with birth weight below 

1,501 grams”. Tidskr. Nor Laegeforening 200january 30;121(3):298-302. 

Institution and Mailing Address of lecturer: Sorlandet resource centre, Gimlemoen 19, 4630 Kristiansand 

E-mail: kirsten.ruud@statped.no and arlene.temte@statped.no 

Side 18

A5 


Name of lecturer: Nevenka Zavrl, dr. med. 


Title of presentation: ”Prechtl’s Method of Assessment of General Movements, Identifying Babies” 

The young infant has a repertoire of spontaneous movement patterns. One set of this movement patterns is 

known as general movements (GMs). They can be observed in foetuses as young as nine weeks postmenstrual 

age (PMA) and continue until about 16 to 20 weeks post term when intentional and antigravity movements occur 

and start to predominate. Changes in the quality of GMs are a reliable indicator of brain dysfunction. Several 

studies confirmed a high sensitivity and specificity of this method. 

When we talk about early intervention two questions appear: »How early?« and »Which infants?« It is unethical 

to stress the family whose infant would develop normally without any intervention. The assessment of GMs 

gives the opportunity for identification of infants, who are at high risk for later disability or neurological dysfunction 

and therefore enables us to start the intervention in the first months of life. 

We use Prechtl's method for assessment of GMs as a part of neurological examination since 1999. We are 

going to present the method and some of our experience. 

Zdravstveni dom Ljubljana Moste, Prvomajska 5, SI-1000 Ljubljana 

E-mail: 

nevenka.zavrl@zd-lj.si 

Side 19


B5 


Name of lecturers: Anna Kirchschlager, Director and Karin Mosler, President of EurlyAid 

Title of Presentation: Insight into the Styrian ECI model—two case studies 

In this work-shop you’ll get information about the model of ECI which is implemented in Austria/Styria for over 

20 years: 

What means ECI to us? 

Main points of organisation and financial conception 

The prerequisites of basically and further training for ECI specialists 

After a short theoretical part you can get an overview about the practical work in different families. 

The most important target is the exchange of mutual experiences. 

Institution and Mailing Adresses of Lecturers: 

Sozial– und Heilpãdagogishes Fõrderungsinstitut, Graz, Germany 

anna.kirchschlager@shfi.at 

karin.mosler@chello.at 

www.eurlyaid.net 

Side 20

C5 


Name of Lecturer: Grete Hoven, senior adviser/special needs educator 

Title of Presentation: Isn’t It Just Playing Around? 


The primary aim of the study was preventive work for children at risk. The main question was whether building 

play competence by employees in preschools, would lead to positive development for this kind of children. The 

second focus of the study was how the employees experienced the development of increased play competence. 

All employees in kindergartens and preschools in one municipality participated during theory lessons. The 

study, however, took place in two preschools. Two boys aged 4 years and 3 month and 5 years and 4 months 

meeting certain criteria, were elected. An intervention programme was developed for the respective children, 

and another was designed for the employees. Three preschool teachers had the responsibility of carrying out 

the intervention programme for the children, under guidance form the project group. 

Data was collected before, during and after closing the project. The children were observed and recorded on 

KALA (a charting tool for play behaviour), and they were observed in natural settings. The employees and the 

parents of the children were interviewed. 

The results prove the project to be a successful one. The observations documented great improvement in both 

of the children. The employees and the members of the project group reported increased play competence. 

Structural changes in the community were carried out as a result of the study. 

Institution Address of Lecturer: 

Trøndelag kompetansesenter, Postboks 373, 7601 Levanger, Norway. 

E-mail: 

grete.hoven@statped.no 

Side 21


B6 


Name of lecturers: Judith Schultheisz, Dr./pediatrition and Piroska Bacso, Physiotherapist 

Title of presentation: “ The Huple program and hydrotherapy for premature babies” 

The quality of medical attandance of premature infants has changed dinamically in the last decades. The problem 

is in the forefront especially in Hungary where the rate of premature infants is higher than the average rate 

in the European Union, itâ019s between 8-10%. The early childhood intervention covers the areas of secunder 

prevention, habilitation and rehabilitation, which begins early, after the intensive care period, and regular control 

lasts until the beginning of the school. 

The keystones of the Gézengúz Foundationâ019s ealy therapy consists of four coherent parts for groundworking 

of the pedagogic program period: 

1. Sensory stimulaing program at home (for ex.: babymassage) 

2. Extrapyramidal neurotherapy 

3. Neurohydrotherapy 

4. Balance training therapy (Huple program) 

Sensory stimulating program consists of: 

-grounding the sensory experiances 

-grounding the motoric functions 

-somatosensory integration 

Extrapyramidal neurotherapy is based on neurophysiological principles that are applicable in the first 6-8 

months of life. The stimulation directly activates the vestibular system, which generates specific movement patterns, 

which begins to built up a self-corrective cycle in the central nervous system. 

Neurohydrotherapy is a therapy program in the bathtub using the elements of extrapyramidal neurotherapy. 

Bathtub program is a preparation for the water pool group. Neuro-hydrotherapy integrates the therapeutic effects 

of vestibular stimulation and those resulting from the physical properties of water. Water decreases gravitation 

which improves the conditions of movement. Water has a positive influence on both the hypo and hyper 

muscle tone of prematures. We teach babies how to keep breathing voluntarily, as a preparation for submersion. 

This supports the regulation of breathing. 

Balance training therapy â013 Huple program 

Huple is a special equipment for balance training and vestibular stimulation, which is useful in the habilitation 

and the rehabilitation during the childhood from the earliest period. The Huple program, as a part of the balance 

training, supports the ontogenetical development of the child in various situations and positions. 

During the therapy, even on the land and in water, we focus on supporting the regulation of the central 

nervous system on the development of the postural control and on the coordinated movement of the extremities, 

which is also based on postural stabilization. 

Institution and Mailing Address of lecturer: 

Gezenguz Foundation, 1038 Budapest, Észak u. 12. Hungary 

E-mail: 

schultheisz@gezenguz.hu 

meridor@freemail.hu 

Side 22

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Name of lecturer: Maria Luisa Trindade, Occupational Therapist and Ana Cristina Saloio, Social Worker 

Title of presentation: ”Step by Step Along with Early Intervention– A case study” 

We would like to share with you the work that is done in an Early Intervention Service, with 15 years of experience, 

in one of the poorest regions of Portugal, Alentejo, in which desertification, ageing and an employment 

shortage are a very common reality. 

It’s in this setting that operates a network of Early Intervention Services, officially legislated since 2002, designed 

for children with disability or at risk of development delay, and their families. The work done by these 

services, in the past years, has made clear that the earliness of intervention does make a huge difference. 

This programme, through a great sense of cooperation and solidarity, articulates Services of the Health Care 

area (hospitals and health care centres), from Social Security (local services), from Education (public and private 

day care/early childhood centres), from Local Authorities and from local Social Solidarity Institutions 

(Cooperatives, Associations and Private Welfare Institutions, Misericórdias). This link between all these partners 

is made through the Direct Intervention Teams, divided by every municipality of the region, in a total of 43. 

This way, we are able to develop a more and more effective follow-up made to the children, and their families, 

in risk situations (environmental, biological and established), through proximity services. By doing so, we make 

our resources profitable, acting directly in the children and their families life contexts, in which the formal and 

informal nets assemble themselves, at no costs and without further stresses for the families. 

Thus, we have structured this presentation in two parts: 

• first, we will give you a brief historical perspective of this early intervention service; 

• second, we will present the work developed with a family that has been with us for almost one year. 

Institution Address of Lecturers: 

Early Intervention of Montemor-o- Novo/ Portugal 

E-mail: 

mariatrind@gmail.com 

Side 23


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16:00 Seminar 4. th September 

Name of lecturers: Bodil Nordøen and Kari E. Laberg, Speech and Language Therapists 

Title of Presentation: “Imitation – the first step to communication”. Children with autism and related 

communication difficulties. 

Imitation has fascinated researchers, clinicians and parents for a long time, with interest in the phenomenon 

stretching all the way back to the ancient Greek philosophers. Many different roles have been assigned to imitation 

and its possible importance for child development; language learning, cultural learning and cognitive development. 

Autism is a severe disability involving deficits in social relationships, language, behaviour and cognition. Children 

with autism seem to have some problems with imitation, which is essential in establishing intersubjectivity. 

Recently, however, some studies (Nadel et al., 2000; Field et al., 2001; Escalona et al., 2002) suggests that 

imitation as an intervention will improve social behaviour in children with autism. These studies indicate that 

being intensely imitated for a brief period of time increases social interest among the children. In our own study 

(Laberg & Nordøen, 2004; Heimann, Laberg & Nordøen, 2006) we tried to replicate and extend some of these 

findings in a Norwegian setting. Twenty children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were randomly assigned 

to an intervention based on either imitation (n=10) or a contingently responsive interaction without imitation 

(n=10). The children had little or no functional speech, and their developmental age averaged 25 months. 

Both groups were presented with repeated sessions of a modified version of Nadel’s ‘still-face’ paradigm (stillface/intervention/still-face/ 

spontaneous play). The analysis revealed a significant increase of both proximal and 

distal social behaviours (touch and look at person) for the imitation group, which confirms previous reports. In 

addition, an increase in elicited imitation, as measured with the PEP-R developmental assessment procedure, 

was also observed for children in the imitation condition. This finding extends earlier reports in that it suggests 

that the social expectancies unlocked by imitation also spread to tasks outside the experimental setting. 

The focus of our presentation will be a summery of our study. We will also talk about how systematic imitative 

interaction elicited communicative development in a seven year old girl with Rett syndrome. 

Institution Address of Lecturers: 

Statped Vest, Norwegian Support System for Special Education 

Postbox 6039 Bergen Postterminal 

5892 Bergen 

E-mail: 

bodil.nordoen@statped.no 

kari.e.laberg@statped.no 

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A7 


Name of Lecturer: Marta Ljubešić, Professor 

Title of Presentation: Early communication as predictor of later outcome 

Prelinguistic communication is often implicated as contributing factor in later appearing language or social communication 

problems, but there is little research of features of prelinguistic communication as predictor of developmental 

outcome. The aim of this presentation is to analyze later developmental outcome in children with different 

profiles of prelinguistic communication. 

The participants were children who went through developmental assessment within Early Communication unit, 

clinical unit of Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences due to parent’s concern about their early language 

development. Their later developmental outcome was checked through control assessment or by telephone 

survey. 

Results implicate that already in the age of two, based on communication features and previous development of 

the child, at least four developmental trajectories can be distinguished: (a) normal development, (b) late talkers, 

(c) slower mental and language development (future learning difficulties), (d) participants on the autistic spectrum 

disorder. Results indicate that the emergence of first words is not so predictive for later outcome as the 

ratio between the declarative and imperative communicative purposes and measure of social cognition. By considering 

the features of prelinguistic communication early enough, it is also possible to distinguish between developmental 

disorders and transitory delay. Early detection and delineation between different developmental 

profiles is a necessary step for implementing optimal intervention strategies that are close enough to the genesis 

of the problem. 

Institution and Mailing Address of lecturer: 

Department of Speech and Language Pathology 

Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences 

University of Zagreb, Borongajska 83f 

10 000 Zagreb 

Croatia 

E-mail: 

marta.ljubesic@public.carnet.hr 


Side 25

B7 



Name of Lecturer: Maria Tzouriadou, Professor of Special Education and Melanthia Kontopoulou- 

Kokkinaki, Clinical Psychologist, Associate Professor and Maria Psoinos, PhD in Social Psychology 

Title of Presentation: An inclusive early intervention programme: the case of two pre-schoolers 

The case-study to be presented aimed at examining how cognitive and sociocultural factors interact and influence 

children’s progress in an early intervention inclusive educational setting. The two boys selected for the 

purposes of the research, had mild mental retardation but with a different intra-individual profile, as they differed 

in terms of the language and achievement problems they manifested in the class. They came from different sociocultural 

backgrounds: one was a minority non-native speaker of Greek and originated from a low sociocultural 

context and the other was a native speaker and originated from a high sociocultural context. When the 

transdisciplinary team completed the diagnostic procedure, comprising of taking the developmental and psychosocial 

history of the children, cognitive-psycholinguistic testing and dynamic assessment, the early intervention 

educational programme was implemented. The programme followed the content of the general curriculum but 

placed particular emphasis on the enhancement of cognitive strategies, narratives and verbal interaction. The 

short-term goals of the programme defined gradually and were often modified as the programme unfolded. In 

the long-run the aim was to help the children to reach a performance level that would match that of their classmates 

and to attain better social interaction with their peers. The evaluation of the programme showed that both 

children were successfully included in the classroom not only because their verbal abilities and cognitive skills 

improved but also because, through their ability to express themselves better, they started interacting with their 

peers more closely. 

Institution and Mailing Address of lecturer: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece 

Titels of the presenters. Maria Tzouriadou, , Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece 

Melanthia Kontopoulou-Kokkinaki, , Aristotle University of 

Thessaloniki, Greece 

Maria Psoinos, Cambridge University, U.K. 

E-mail: 

tzour@nured.auth.gr 

melanthi@nured.auth.gr 

psoinos@hotmail.com 

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Name of Lecturers: Unni Tranaas Vannebo Public Health Care Nurse and Anne Margrethe Rostad, PH 

Psychol 

Title of Presentation: “Sustained withdrawal – an early warning signal? 

Information about project ADBB – Alarm Distress Baby Scale” 

Withdrawal reactions are part of the infant's normal regulatory repertoire (e.g.: Field, 1977; Guedeney, 1997) 

and might constitute an early warning signal for suboptimal development. Usually such signs occur as a reaction 

to minor transient perturbations within early parent-infant interactions (Adamson & Frick, 2003): Even very 

short episodes of non-responsiveness on the mother's part may create withdrawal reactions but the child is usually 

able to re-enter into a rewarding and engaging interaction as soon as she/he regains the parent's full attention. 

However, if the situation is not solved, if the parent and the infant cannot re-establish their mutually rewarding 

relationship or if the situation is repeated or prolonged, the withdrawal reaction may be an early signal 

of severe distress leading to a less optimal developmental pathway. Thus, sustained withdrawal might develop; 

a behavioral response that can be assessed in primary health care with the Alarm Distress Baby Scale 

(Guedeney & Fermanian, 2001). The Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB) is a relatively new clinical instrument 

for detecting non-optimal withdrawal reactions in infants below two years of age. Studies in Europe, South 

America and Australia have reported that the scale can be used reliable by health practitioners and also that it 

has promising psychometric properties. The scale uses a brief clinical observation to evaluate easily observable 

social behaviors within eight domains. 

A recently launched project in Norway investigates how ADBB can be used in well baby clinics in order to detect 

infants at risk for no-optimal development. The study follows 242 children from 3- to 12-months of age (192 

children born at term; 50 children born 4 to 10 weeks prematurely). All children will be assessed three times 

with the ADBB (at 3 and 9 months by a nurse and at 6 months by a GP). A follow-up at 12 months of age assesses 

the well being of the mother and infant using checklists, questionnaires, interviews, and observations. 

Data collection starts in January 2008 and ends October 2009. 

National Network for the Study of Infant Mental Health, Norway 

Institution Addresses of lecturers: National Network for the Study of Infant Mental Health, Regional Centers, 

Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and Tromsø RBUP Øst og Sør, Postboks 4623 Nydalen, 0405 Oslo 

E-mail: 

utv@r-bup.no 

amros142000@yahoo.no 

Side 27

Grundvig Meeting 1 Norway 2008 September - Sozial

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