Early Intervention Practices Around the World


Book Description

What kinds of early intervention practices are other countries developing and implementing--and what can we learn from them? You'll find the answers in this fascinating book, which spotlights effective, innovative practices at work in China, Sweden, Ethiopia, Portugal, India, Israel, Australia, Germany, and more. Along with a detailed overview of and rationale for early intervention, you'll get chapters built around early intervention practices in four areas: service delivery models, including topics like community-based inclusion, mediational approaches to early intervention, and service provision in rural areas family support, including topics like working with families to implement home interventions, addressing challenges like poverty and malnutrition, and forming partnerships with families of children with disabilities professional development, including topics like university-based continuing education programs, low-cost education for paraprofessionals, and development of programs for in-service professionals organizational support, including topics like national legislation, community and agency initiatives, and team development Each chapter highlights early intervention in one country and includes a vignette that provides cultural context; background information on the country's social, political, and economic structure; challenges and successes the country has experienced in implementing specific early intervention practices; and recommendations on how other countries can apply the lessons learned. With this broad international look at early intervention, you'll sharpen your knowledge of the issues other cultures face and get the inspiration and creative strategies you need to improve your own practice. This book is part of the International Issues in Early Intervention series.




From Neurons to Neighborhoods


Book Description

How we raise young children is one of today's most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of "expertise." The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development-in the womb and in the first months and years-have reached the popular media. How can we use our burgeoning knowledge to assure the well-being of all young children, for their own sake as well as for the sake of our nation? Drawing from new findings, this book presents important conclusions about nature-versus-nurture, the impact of being born into a working family, the effect of politics on programs for children, the costs and benefits of intervention, and other issues. The committee issues a series of challenges to decision makers regarding the quality of child care, issues of racial and ethnic diversity, the integration of children's cognitive and emotional development, and more. Authoritative yet accessible, From Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the evidence about "brain wiring" and how kids learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the climate-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.




Family-centered Early Intervention


Book Description

Aligned with DEC recommended practices and CEC standards! A must for future early interventionists.




Parenting Matters


Book Description

Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.




Handbook of Developmental Disabilities


Book Description

This authoritative handbook reviews the breadth of current knowledge about developmental disabilities: neuroscientific and genetic foundations; the impact on health, learning, and behavior; and effective educational and clinical practices. Leading authorities analyze what works in intervening with diverse children and families, from infancy through the school years and the transition to adulthood. Chapters present established and emerging approaches to promoting communication and language abilities, academic skills, positive social relationships, and vocational and independent living skills. Current practices in positive behavior support are discussed, as are strategies for supporting family adaptation and resilience.




Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8


Book Description

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.




Reforming Personnel Preparation in Early Intervention


Book Description

Shows instructors how to prepare early intervention students and staff to work as a cohesive team, offering advice on assessing staff needs, designing and linking pre-service and in-service training, and integrating content and process to prepare a multidisciplinary audience. Examines teaching methods, key elements of personnel preparation, and examples of successful models, with chapters devoted to family-centered practices, service coordination, child evaluation, and public policy. Includes instructional ideas and activities. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR




The SAGE Handbook of Special Education


Book Description

'[T]his book provides an excellent overview of special education, which will be a valuable resource for teachers, school managers and administrators, parents and indeed anyone with an interest in the development of provision for pupils with special educational needs. It is also likely to be an invaluable source book for researchers and postgraduate students alike' - REACH 'The Handbook offers a range of views on how to empower all learners to transcend their current performance and go "beyond the limits"' - Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology `This text makes an important contribution to special education. Perhaps, more significantly, it makes an important contribution to inclusive education, and possibly, even more widely, to education in general...it is a book that has significance for all of us who wish to move education towards a more equitable, democratic, humane, and dignified system for our young people' - Education in the North In recent years there has been increasingly vigorous debate about the nature and purpose of special education, and what might be considered the appropriate responses to pupils who experience difficulties in learning. This Handbook brings together the most up to date knowledge of this area and will serve as the major source book of authoritative information and ideas about current and future directions for special education. It examines the intricate relation between theory, research and practice, and places a particular emphasis on what has been learned about providing for students who experience difficulties in learning, how these understandings can contribute to new conceptualisations of special education and the development of more inclusive schools. This comprehensive, research-based work, brings together scholarship on an international level, and covers topics that transcend national boundaries. It will become essential reading for all professionals and academics with any interest in this important and dynamic field.




Handbook of Research on Prenatal, Postnatal, and Early Childhood Development


Book Description

Child development comprises children’s cognitive, linguistic, motor, social and emotional development, communication, and self-care skills. Understanding developmental periods means that possible problems or roadblocks can be planned for or prevented. Knowledge of child development is necessary for achieving educational goals and is integral to promoting children’s healthy and timely development. The Handbook of Research on Prenatal, Postnatal, and Early Childhood Development is an essential scholarly reference source that compiles critical findings on children’s growth periods and characteristics as well as the principles that affect their development. Covering a wide range of topics such as at-risk children, early intervention, and support programs, this book is ideally designed for child development specialists, pediatricians, educators, program developers, administrators, psychologists, researchers, academicians, and students. Additionally, the book provides insight and support to health professionals working in various disciplines in the field of child development and health.




The Early Intervention Guidebook for Families and Professionals


Book Description

This guidebook on family–professional partnerships has been used as a go-to early intervention resource in university coursework, for inservice professional development, and as a support to families in (or considering) early intervention. This new edition has been completely revised to reflect recent research and respond to feedback that the author accumulated from users of the book, including practicing professionals and university instructors. With a focus on how families and professionals can collaborate effectively so that infants and toddlers (0–3) learn, grow, and thrive, chapters address: child learning and development, family functioning and priorities, early intervention as a support and not a substitute, and planning “what’s next” after early intervention. Specific components of early intervention—evaluation and assessment, program planning, intervention implementation, service coordination, and transition—are also discussed. This hands-on resource uses stories of families in early intervention to illustrate key concepts and provides checklists that readers can use to assess their experiences in early intervention. “This guidebook is my go-to source with families, professionals, and students. The newest edition expands upon an already exceptional book with the most recent policy and evidence-based practice recommendations. I can’t keep enough copies in my library.” —Susan Fowler, director, Illinois Early Intervention Clearinghouse “Supporting and empowering parents to help their infants and toddlers with delays and/or disabilities to learn and grow is key to future successes. Bonnie’s Keilty’s comprehensive work on the new edition of The Early Intervention Guidebook for Families and Professionals will help to insure that Part C Early Intervention around the country will stay focused on its work with and for families.” —Roxane Romanick, Founding Board Member Early Intervention Family Alliance