Individuals with severe disabilities and their families can engage in person-centered and family-centered planning for aging using a life course view. Viewing aging within the context of the family and disability is essential because many people with severe disabilities depend on their families for supports in daily living, social relationships,…

The purpose of this article is to describe an approach that early educators can use to develop meaningful partnerships with families. Specifically, the authors describe their efforts to support teachers in developing home-school connections through a series of Family Projects that strengthened family-child relationships and created opportunities…

Supporting families who have family members with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) as they move through life is a critical need (Reynolds, Palmer, & Gotto, 2018). The phrase, "supporting families," juxtaposes the typical family support paradigm in response to the ongoing shrinkage of federal and state dollars and the…

In this article, the authors focus on one important early literacy skill--phonological awareness--and describe how to support its development for all children by intentionally embedding it in storybook reading. Supporting the development of young children's phonological awareness is an important part of helping a child learn to read. Preschool…

This paper introduces Causal Agency Theory, an extension of the functional model of self-determination. Causal Agency Theory addresses the need for interventions and assessments pertaining to selfdetermination for all students and incorporates the significant advances in understanding of disability and in the field of positive psychology since the…

Early childhood practitioners can play a vital role in the development of early self-determination in partnership with families. Self-determination has been generally considered to be about personal agency or control that can also relate to the quality of one's life. Young children with disabilities start to develop a range of critical skills such…