Professional standards identify what future educators should know and be able to do when they complete a program of study from an Institution of Higher Education (IHE). With support from the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), the first ever stand-alone Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education (EI/ECSE) Standards were approved in…

Early identification and intervention for children with disabilities can significantly improve longer term outcomes, but in developing nations like many in the Pacific Rim, such programs and practices can be expensive and must compete against other needs. We argue that early identification and intervention by schools leads not only to life…

The paucity of research on learning and development may seem surprising, but it is a pervasive fact. Research relating brain science to learning and development is even sparser, with scant evidence investigating connections between mind, brain, and education. Indeed one reason for the prevalence of neural myths is that so little research links…

Useful assessment outcomes (as manifest through assigned scores) must show reasonable variation across children because it is that variation that presumably defines children's individual differences. Alternatively it is conceivable that some portion of the variability in assessment outcomes does not reflect child differences but rather differences…

Learning to communicate using speech and language is a primary developmental task for young children. Delays in the acquisition of language are one of the earliest indicators of developmental deficits that may affect academic and social outcomes for individuals across the life span. In the period since the passage of PL 99-457, significant…

This article examines issues associated with the preparation of doctoral-level personnel to assume interdisciplinary scholarship and leadership roles in early intervention (EI). Following a review of national reports focused on EI doctoral leadership training, the preparation of educational researchers, and interdisciplinary doctoral programs in…

In the last two and half decades, much has been learned about conceptualizing and developing measures for use by practitioners designed to inform their intervention decision making, such as when a child would benefit from receiving additional instructional support (universal screening) and whether the child is responding positively to the…

In response to efforts to establish evidenced-based practice in early intervention programs, this article offers the single-subject design as the best alternative in the absence of sufficient development of standards of care. The article discusses single-subject design models, strengths for clinical use, and benefits for establishing an ordered…

Describes a University of Alberta project that focuses on family interventions to enhance the resilience of high-risk children with developmental disorders; the project's research phase, which compares and evaluates three interventions (family-centered assessment and intervention planning, natural teaching strategies, and cooperative family…

This paper reacts to testimony on early childhood special education research before the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education (EC 632 080). It supports the recommendations made by the authors of that paper and suggests that, in addition, recommendations be developed that address a broader systems perspective. (Contains 5…

This paper describes work being conducted at the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center of Rutgers University, focusing on the center's research findings which support the value of group-focused, language-based, integrated programing for preschool children with autism. (Author/JDD)

Results are reported from the field survey of the Council for Exceptional Children's Division for Early Childhood (DEC) Recommended Practices Project as one part of a national effort to develop evidence-based practices. Respondents (n=388) supported all the identified practices as recommended practice. Respondents also supplied information about…

Review of scientifically based reading research as it applies to students with hearing impairments stresses the importance of (1) early intervention, (2) active learning opportunities, (3) teaching strategies for reading fluency, and (4) applying teacher interventions such as miscue analysis. The importance of identifying and implementing…

A review of literature on orientation and mobility (O&M) training for preschool children with visual impairments finds that these services have expanded rapidly despite lack of a well-documented and thorough research base beyond the demonstrated value of basic O&M instruction in early intervention. The review addresses the need for services,…

This review of the research concerning developmental patterns of young children with autism finds specific patterns of relative strengths and weaknesses involving cognitive, emotional, linguistic, and motoric capacities. Early intervention strategies that address the unique learning profile of autism and utilize the effective practices developed…