Traditionally, those working with children who have special needs and their parents have focused on helping the child master cognitive, language, and motor goals in which functionally based curricula are used. This approach has centered on the child because of parental concerns about the child's ability to accomplish developmental milestones and because of the emphases of professional training programs on remediating the child's skill deficits. Evaluations of intervention programs demonstrate, however, that focusing on family interactions, as well as on children's skills, may have a greater effect on child development than focusing solely on the child (e.g., Brofenbrenner, 1975; Shonkoff, Hauser-Cram, Krauss, & Upshur, 1992). As a result, the importance of encouraging reciprocal and motivating parent–child interaction is now increasingly recognized (e.g., Bernstein, Hans, & Percansky, 1991; Glovinsky, 1993; Greenspan, 1988; Kelly & Barnard, 1990; McCollum & Hemmeter, 1997; McLean & McCormick, 1993; Thorp & McCollom, 1994).

Previous research has shown that the quality of the early parent–child relationship has important consequences for a child's development (e.g., Bakeman & Brown, 1980; Beckwith & Rodning, 1996; Bee et al. 1982; Belsky, Goode, & Most, 1980; Brazelton, 1988; Coates & Lewis, 1984; Farran & Ramey, 1980; Hann, Osofsky, & Culp, 1996; Kelly, Morisset, Barnard, Hammond, & Booth, 1996; Papousek & Bornstein, 1992; Redding, Harmon, & Morgan, 1990; Tamis-LeMonda & Bornstein, 1989, Wachs & Gruen, 1982).