Early childhood development (ECD) policies and programs are increasingly recognized as having a strong, positive impact at both the individual (e.g., learning, health, behavior) and societal (e.g., inclusion, social cohesion, earnings) levels. Yet, little attention is given to the lived experiences and working conditions of the workforce who…

As prevalence of autism spectrum disorder continues to increase, so too does the need for timely, accessible diagnostic consultation. The present work extends from a previous study which provided preliminary evidence for the feasibility of expert clinicians to utilize telemedicine to triage autism spectrum disorder risk in young children. However,…

Brief, clinically feasible instruments are needed to assess autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in toddlers and preschoolers so that children can access early evidence-based intervention. Study purposes were to (1) compare scores on the 30-item Checklist for Autism Spectrum Disorder (CASD) and 6-item CASD-Short Form (CASD-SF) for toddlers and…

The provision of information is generally not a technical activity, but rather a contextualized social action. Previous research about informed-choice and decision-making for parents of children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing (POCDHH) has demonstrated this, highlighting the close relationship between contextual factors and the nature of…

The principals of early intervention suggest that children learn best through everyday experiences and families can enhance their child's learning with the right supports and resources. This is especially true for young children with hearing loss. Research suggests there is a critical shortage of early intervention professionals trained to work…

Difficulties in implementing effective instruction for at-risk students arise from two challenges: the transfer of evidence-based knowledge and the lack of economic resources. Computer-assisted programmes offer a suitable solution, providing quality instruction using low-cost resources. Thirty-two first-grade students with early learning…

This study examined long-term persistence differences between three samples of first-year online graduate students to understand the impact an early intervention had on students who failed the first assignment in their first course. A Fisher's exact test showed no statistically significant difference in the likelihood of remaining enrolled at the…

This prospective longitudinal study examined how maternal prenatal substance use disorder (SUD) and early mother-infant interaction quality are associated with child social cognition (emotion recognition and mentalization) at school age. A sample of 52 poly-substance-using mothers receiving early interventions and 50 non-users, along with their…

Mental health problems in early childhood (e.g., depression, anxiety) have a similar prevalence as for older individuals, with 10-15% of preschoolers meeting criteria for clinical diagnosis. Research has shown that intervention to support mental health in early childhood is important to mitigate later problems. However, early intervention is…

Way to Play is an approach that supports adults to promote the engagement of young children with autism spectrum disorder through play. The Ministry of Education in New Zealand has collaborated with Autism New Zealand to ensure the sustainable delivery of Way to Play within Auckland's early learning services by training early intervention staff to…

Disruptive behavior problems frequently emerge in the preschool years and are associated with numerous, long-term negative outcomes, including comorbid disorders. First Step is a psychosocial early intervention with substantial empirical evidence supporting its efficacy among young children. The present study reports on a validation study of the…

Head Start is a national program that helps young children from families with low income get ready to succeed in school. The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) is the premier source of national information about Head Start programs and participants. For more than two decades, FACES has been advancing the knowledge base about…

The transition from early intervention to early childhood special education programs is one of five key changes or transitions in the early childhood years. This transition involves a change in service systems from Part C to Part B of IDEA (2004), which involves a shift in the philosophy and service delivery models between the two systems (Hanson…

Purpose: Part C early intervention (EI) providers, including speech-language pathologists, are often involved in autism screening practices and discussing autism with families of toddlers. The purpose of this study was to understand EI providers' perspectives of screening for autism. Method: Using a phenomenological qualitative design, we explored…

Aims: The current study aims to examine the role of energy drink and energy shot consumption in school disengagement, low academic performance, and academic expectations, and investigates the robustness of these associations across sex, grade, race, and substance use history. Method: This study employs a pooled cross-sectional design and uses a…