Part C early intervention (EI) starts no earlier than birth, even with a prenatal diagnosis resulting in automatic eligibility. Despite other early U.S. home visiting programs beginning prenatally and the increasing likelihood of uncovering certain diagnoses prenatally, pregnant families cannot access EI. This study sought to understand families'…

The Latino community has been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in unique challenges. This paper explores the lived experiences of five Spanish-speaking Latina mothers of young children receiving early childhood special education (ECSE) services during the pandemic. Through in-depth qualitative interviews, this paper…

Early intervention (EI) services--including but not limited to speech, physical, occupational, and mental health therapies--have been proven to significantly benefit young children's development, shaping their readiness for school and offering pivotal support for caregivers. However, racial disparities persist in identification for and access to…

Parents of children on the autism spectrum are important members of their child's early intervention team, yet there are multiple barriers to translating evidence-based parent-mediated interventions in Mexico. We examined early intervention needs in the Mexican population and compared these needs to those of the Latinx Spanish-speaking population…

The importance of being family centered when providing services to children with a disability and their families has gained currency in the research and practice literature. A growing body of evidence has validated many of the theoretical links between the help-giving practices of staff and desirable outcomes for families with a child with a…

Each year nearly 900,000 cases of child abuse and neglect are substantiated in the United States, with the highest rates of maltreatment occurring among infants and toddlers. Children exposed to maltreatment are at increased risk of developmental delay. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act specifies that children under age 3 with…

This paper argues that cognitive referencing (which compares skills to cognitive level rather than to chronological age standards), used to determine children's eligibility for special language and motor services, is not consistent with current theoretical formulations. It also lacks empirical evidence for validity and results in exclusion of…

The Research and Training Center (RTC) in Service Coordination is a federally funded project charged with carrying out an advanced research program to analyze current, and recommend future, policies and practices for service coordination under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act amendments of 1997. One RTC objective was to…

Four approaches to services and intervention design for young children with learning and/or behavior problems are described, followed by a discussion of PASSKey (planned activity, systematic sampling, and keystone behavior), an ecobehavioral and naturalistic approach to intervention design. A case study illustrates the model. (Author/DB)

This article examines research on classroom-based interventions as they relate to promoting inclusion and addresses challenges facing the special education field, including the increasing diversity of the children served and of early childhood service delivery systems. The need to expand the research base on effective instructional approaches is…

A comparison of the adaptation of 16 Korean and 16 Korean American parents to their children with developmental disabilities found both groups experienced a process of transformation in regard to their feelings about their children. Differences in public policy, social services, and available resources suffused parental accounts of their…

Two studies examined developmental outcomes associated with services in inclusive and self-contained preschool classrooms. Children functioning at relatively higher levels of social and emotional functioning performed better in inclusive settings than in specialized settings and children in full-day classrooms achieved higher rates of progress…

This study investigated families of children with autism spectrum disorders using early intervention and early childhood services, as well as the perceived efficacy and developmental outcomes related to the services and service delivery methods. Results indicated that a variety of recommended practices are not being used by families and…

A study investigated why some of the low-income single caregivers of 104 children (ages 7-40 months) with disabilities were more involved in early intervention services than others. Difficulties in family functioning and lower levels of knowledge about child development were directly related to caregiver involvement. (Contains references.)…