Starting With Their Strengths


Book Description

This book provides a comprehensive and practical guide to using the project approach when teaching young children with special needs. While focusing on children's individual strengths, which include their interests, intelligences, and unique styles of learning, this resource demonstrates teaching strategies that address multiple areas of development. Using scenarios from their own practice, The authors examine the process of accessing children's strengths to facilitate social, emotional, cognitive, and motor development, including concepts and skills. The authors provide tools to determine, organize, and plan with children's strengths and demonstrate the use of documentation as an authentic assessment of children's skills and goals. Teachers will use this book to create learning environments that enrich learning for all children.







DEC Recommended Practices in Early Intervention/early Childhood Special Education


Book Description

This book is designed to provide guidance on effective practices that are related to better outcomes for young children with disabilities, their families, and the personnel who serve them. Practices were identified through focus groups of stakeholders: practitioners, personnel trainers, researchers, administrators, and family members. These practices were integrated with those found from an extensive review of the literature. The resulting practices underwent a field validation. After an introductory chapter, chapters are provided that list recommended practices in the following areas: (1) assessment; (2) child-focused interventions; (3) family-based interventions; (4) interdisciplinary models; (5) technology applications; (6) polices, procedures, and systems change; and (7) personnel preparation. Each of these chapters begins with an introductory statement written by the research strand chair and includes the organizing principles or key features that serve as the foundation of each strand. Also included are definitions of terms that are specific to the strand. A listing of the recommended practices follows. Chapters 9 and 10 discuss methods and activities used to produce the recommended practices and provide applications to illustrate ways the practices can be used in the field. Appendices include information on applicable federal laws and resources and position papers. (Chapters include references.) (CR)




Early Intervention Studies for Young Children with Special Needs


Book Description

This is the fourth volume in the Rehabilitation Education Series. It is the first volume tobe co-edited and follows a volume on quality of life. The first few years of a child' s life sets the pattern for many issues associated with quality of life. Although intervention may at later stages enhance quality oflife, it is in these first years thatthe attitudes and systems of society can have long lasting effects. The early years are increasingly seen as the province of the educator and in children with disabilities, special education. They are already recognized as the province of the health professional. Here we attempt to take a different line re-inforcing the idea that child and family are the interacting system we serve. The needs are often multidisciplinary, but we need to recognize context as the critical marker. Thus assessment needs tobe linked to program mes and therefore programmes themselves have tobe evaluated, and environmental issues underlined. In particular the contribu tion from those with sociological interests are noted. Intervention, whether it be psychological or educational, is frequently and ideally placed in the hands of parents or the nearest caregiver. The professional becomes the processor ever mindful of the context in which needs and goals are experienced. These issues are basic to the issues of quality of life. D.R.M. R.I.B.










Intervention Strategies for Infants and Toddlers with Special Needs


Book Description

This book features contributions from leading professionals who have extensive experience with children who have special needs -- birth to three years of age. Extremely practical in approach, it contains "recommended practices" in early intervention that are easy to implement for serving young children and their families. Presents foundations for infant and toddler intervention and explores the importance of teamwork in early intervention. Surveys intervention strategies for developmental domains -- neuromotor development, cognitive development, and social and communication development. Considers intervention strategies for medical contexts -- for the neonatal period and for medically fragile/complex infants and toddlers. Discusses intervention with infants and toddlers who are at-risk, have multiple or severe disabilities, hearing impairment, or visual impairment. Explains how to collaborate with families and how to develop an Individualized Family Service Plan. For interventionists, educators, and families who are dealing with young children with special needs.




Early Childhood Intervention


Book Description

Early childhood is considered a critical but often vulnerable period in a child’s development where early identification and intervention can be crucial for improving children’s developmental outcomes. Systems and family-centred perspectives are vital to support families and build their capacities to lead normalized lives with improved family quality of life. This book explores the family-centred practices and systems factors which influence families’ experiences raising children with complex needs. It also considers the ways in which professionals can work with families to build and support parent and child competence. Conceptual and practical work from Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States present descriptions of and implications for different family system frameworks and early-childhood programs. Contributors in this edited volume bring together contemporary information that bridges the research to practice gap in supporting families of young children with disabilities or delays. Chapters include: Early Intervention for Young Children with Developmental Delays: Contributions of the Developmental Systems Approach Family Composition and Family Needs in Australia: What Makes a Family? Working with Families in Early Childhood Intervention: Family-Centred Practices in an Individualised Funding Landscape Family Systems and Family-Centred Intervention Practices in Portugal and Spain: Iberian Reflections on Early Childhood Intervention This book will attract the attention scholars of Parenting and Families; Child Development and Childcare.