Lighting is a critical environmental     ';
                  factor.                       ';
                                                ';
Lighting that is too bright or that causes a    ';
series of harsh shadows can overwhelm and con-  ';
fused a young mind and eyes that have a hard    ';
time focusing.                                  ';
                                                ';
Soft lighting, from a single source that pro-   ';
vides a predictable environment might help.     ';
      What happens in a child's world can       ';
       be either soothing or upsetting.         ';
                                                ';
Often the key to whether it is a source of com- ';
fort or alarm sets on how predictable or expect-';
ed the interaction is.                          ';
                                                ';
Constancy is the key to being able to handle the';
environment.  Unexpected noise or rapid changes ';
in the amount going on can be upsetting.        ';
       Things going on outside of the child's   ';
        direct line of sight are part of the    ';
           environment to be dealt with.        ';
                                                ';
Cutting down on what a child has to deal with by';
closing the door is one way to help make things ';
more manageable.                                ';
                                                ';
Isolation, in this way, is a way of helping     ';
rather than punishing.                          ';
       Stimulation can be exciting but only     ';
 when the child has the ability to control it.  ';
                                                ';
When more comes in than can be handled, the re- ';
sult is often a physical upset that triggers    ';
colic.                                          ';
                                                ';
Minimizing the amount of stimulation during the ';
time for colic can be one way of assuring that  ';
the child will be able to handle it.            ';
       Predictability, manageability and        ';
    constancy are the keys to keeping things    ';
         under control internally.              ';
                                                ';
Most families interact with a baby at times     ';
throughout the day.  This results in periods of ';
high stimulation, followed by times of no inter-';
action.  This is hard for some children to cope ';
with.  Scheduling interaction in a predictable  ';
way can help these children handle their world. ';
         Children, like most people,            ';
  respond to the subtle vibrations of music.    ';
                                                ';
It goes beyond liking or disliking a particular ';
piece of music.  Music sets up internal patterns';
that can help regulate many functions of a young';
system.                                         ';
                                                ';
Often, the music need not be loud or powerful to';
work-- quiet background music may be enough.    ';
        The powerful vibrations of some         ';
  music can take hold of the internal patterns  ';
        and help re-establish a balance.        ';
                                                ';
For some children, internal upset does not res- ';
pond to quiet background music.  For them, the  ';
response to music is still there but the music  ';
must be strong enough to make a difference.     ';
                                                ';
Loud should never hurt, but rather dominate.    ';
       Repetitious, monotonous sounds           ';
        can help reset or maintain an           ';
             internal clock.                    ';
                                                ';
The influence of external sound, particularly   ';
when there is not a lot of complexity to deal   ';
with can help smooth out the internal patterns. ';
                                                ';
The predictable pattern of a clock or a metro-  ';
nome can often provide this form of stimulation.';
   What is in a child's room can provide        ';
   opportunities for growth or overwhelm.       ';
                                                ';
Too busy an environment, even a large number of ';
different colors or textures as well as things  ';
can present more than a young child can manage. ';
                                                ';
Even the subtle vapors released by many man-made';
fabrics can be more than delicate systems can   ';
manage.  Often reducing what is there is enough.';
                                                ';
                                                ';