To address the variability of naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention outcomes, the current study sought to isolate the effects of the instructional strategies of caregiver-mediated naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions. In this comparative efficacy trial, mothers of 111 autistic children (18-48 months) were randomized to…

Part C Early Intervention (EI) systems are an entry point to services for autistic toddlers and can be leveraged to facilitate access to autism evidence-based practices (EBPs). However, EI systems are complex and limited research has examined how an EI system's infrastructure (i.e. system-level factors) impacts the adoption and implementation of…

Early intervention (EI) plays a crucial role in supporting infants and toddlers with developmental needs and helping families understand how to meet their child's needs. However, once a child reaches the age of three, these services come to an end and families must transition to school services. Surprisingly, there is a lack of research focusing…

Early intervention (EI) home visitation programs are central to delivering services that support infants and toddlers displaying developmental delays or disabilities and their families. Entities that oversee such programs continually seek to strengthen the quality of program practices. The "Getting Ready" approach is a professional…

Purpose: Intentional communication acts, or purposefully directed vocalizations and gestures, are particularly difficult for infants at elevated likelihood for eventual diagnosis of autism. The ability to measure and track intentional communication in infancy thus has the potential to aid early identification and intervention efforts. This study…

While researchers have devoted significant attention to the well-being of teaching professionals, there remains a notable gap in our understanding of early childhood intervention practitioners. For example, little is known about the factors maintaining professionals' commitment and effectiveness throughout their careers, including the role of…

In the last reauthorization of the U.S. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), families of individuals with disabilities provided less than 4% of the public comments. Given that families are equal partners in the decision-making process for students with disabilities, it is critical to understand their suggestions for IDEA. To this…

Early childhood development (ECD) initiatives are championed globally due to their proven ability to help children at risk of developmental delay attain their developmental potential. A comparative study was conducted using a mixed research approach to assess child development disparities among rural and urban children across the domain of child…

Background: Despite being an important aspect of effective early intervention service delivery, 'engagement' has been inconsistently defined in paediatric healthcare. Previous research has identified that engagement in early speech-language pathology intervention is complex and multifaceted. However, more research is needed to understand the ways…

Dual-factor models of mental health, those that include risk of psychopathology and wellbeing/protective factors, provide a more comprehensive understanding of an individual's complete mental health. Social-emotional learning (SEL) skills and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are each independently linked in the literature with predicting the…

Using telehealth in early intervention has the potential to increase family and child outcomes as well as to increase access to family-centered services. Yet, little is known about families' perspectives, including concerns, prior to using telehealth in early intervention. The purpose of this study was to explore families' perceptions and…

Preparation of early childhood special educators, including early interventionists, includes knowledge and application of different practices than either early childhood generally or school-age special education. Several organizations, including the Division of Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children, have identified relevant…

Objectives: This manuscript describes the rationale and protocol for an on-line, school-based randomised controlled trial of "Projecte d'Educació Postural a l'Escola" (Postural Education in School Project) (PEPE) which aims to prevent non-specific low back pain and promote healthy postural habits in children. The study will examine the…

Educational interventions are frequently designed to occur during early childhood, based on the idea that earlier intervention will have greater long-term academic benefits. However, surprisingly little is known about when cognitive and academic skills are most plastic, or malleable, during development. One way to study plasticity is to ask…

The purpose of this study was to explore whether a relationship exists between the rates of state-level developmental screening by a health care provider and state-level provision of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part C (IDEA Part C) early intervention services. This is an important first step in determining whether states have the…