Autism spectrum disorder can be reliably diagnosed prior to age 2, and early, intensive intervention has been found to improve long-term outcomes. Nonetheless, most children with ASD do not receive a diagnosis until after age 3, with even later diagnoses for children from non-white ethnic groups. This study conducted telephone surveys with…

The "Pre-K Classroom Assessment Scoring System" (CLASS) is commonly used to measure three domains of teacher-child interactional quality in preschool classrooms (Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support). However, there is considerable debate regarding the validity of its three-domain factor structure and the…

Considerable attention and legislation are currently focused on developmental dyslexia. A major challenge to these efforts is how to define and operationalize dyslexia. In this article, we argue that rather than defining dyslexia on the basis of an underlying condition, dyslexia is best viewed as a label for an unexpected reading disability. This…

The aim of the current study was to examine theory of mind (ToM), the ability to infer the mental states of others, in young adults who are deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH), and to explore the influence of alexithymia, an inability to understand emotions of the self and others, on ToM performance in this group. Compared to participants with typical…

This dissertation explores how hearing parents with deaf/hard of hearing children come to understand deafness. This mixed methods study used an online survey and multiple case studies (volunteers from survey). Participants were asked about early intervention experiences and beliefs about deafness. The survey had 74 respondents and five families…

Background and Aims: Early intervention (EI) for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) must be resource-efficient while remaining effective; thus, clinicians are challenged to create and implement useful methods. Clinical evidence from community-based interventions that include reliable diagnoses, individual EI programs, along with…

This study compared preschool spoken language outcomes for children with hearing loss who met the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) guidelines to those who did not, as well as compared outcomes for those who met the current EHDI guidelines to those who met the earlier benchmarks. Finally, the predictive role of meeting each component…

Communication between a child's health care provider, child care and other community providers (cross-system communication) may facilitate access and referral to early intervention (EI). This study examined (a) factors associated with cross-system communication and (b) whether cross-system communication was associated with receiving EI among U.S.…

Identifying family strengths is central to early childhood practices. Moving beyond identification to exploring and explicitly applying those strengths can evolve strengths-based and family capacity-building practices. Assessment and planning processes that focus on the strategies families use to help their child learn can give agency to families…

Families are the experts on their children. They often have the most knowledge about their children's strengths, support needs, and preferences. Furthermore, the family plays a critical role in their child's development, partnering with professionals in early intervention to identify child and family needs and to develop and implement strategies…

Early life interventions impacting cognitive abilities are most often followed by post-treatment fadeout. Some have hypothesized that persistence is unlikely when gains are specific to trained skills and distinguishable from impacts on general cognitive ability (classically modeled as a hierarchical factor, so-called psychometric g). Using…

There has been significant and extensive knowledge production in the last four decades regarding pragmatic language impairment (PLI) in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. The evidence contained in this literature, however, is contradictory. The present scoping review (ScR) seeks to disentangle competing explanations of conceptualizing,…

Of the 1.6 billion people with hearing loss worldwide, over 1.2 billion live in underserved communities with the least access to hearing care. This includes preventable hearing loss in an estimated 42 million children who, without early identification and treatment, are at increased risk of significant detrimental effects that can last a lifetime.…

The purpose of this brief is to increase states' awareness of national data resources that can support states in sharing, linking, integrating, and using data on young children with disabilities to enhance the provision of early intervention (EI) and early childhood special education (ECSE) services. The audience for this brief includes states'…

Early intervention providers (EI) have a responsibility to enact recommended practices to best support young children with disabilities and their families. However, pre-service and in-service preparation of early intervention providers is complex and often lacking, leading to gaps in practice. In this qualitative study, we aimed to understand what…