Parents of young children participating in either Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C early intervention or IDEA Part B-619 preschool special education programs were surveyed to obtain a consumer science perspective of the practitioners who were the children's primary service providers. Parents were asked to make…

The preservice and in-service predictors of 1,668 Part C early intervention and Part B(619) preschool special practitioners' perceived self-efficacy beliefs are reported. The preservice variables were type of degree (discipline), years of formal postsecondary education, licensure, and participants' judgment of how well their preservice…

An item-by-item comparison of states' certification standards and/or competencies for Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) with those of national professional association standards (i.e., Council for Exceptional Children [CEC] Common Core, Division for Early Childhood [DEC] of CEC ECSE, and the National Association for the Education of Young…

When the author attended an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting for the 3-year-old son of a friend, she met a preschool service delivery team that was struggling to design interventions for a growing population of children being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It is within the context of this struggle that she was so…

The Research and Training Center (RTC) in Service Coordination is a federally funded project charged with carrying out an advanced research program to analyze current, and recommend future, policies and practices for service coordination under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act amendments of 1997. One RTC objective was to…

University faculty were surveyed to ascertain the degree to which students in early childhood special education, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech?language pathology, and multidisciplinary personnel preparation programs received training in five early intervention practices (family-centered, individualized family service plans,…

Effective implementation of service coordination in early intervention, as mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, remains a challenge for most states. The present study provides a better understanding of the various aspects of the policy infrastructure that undergird service coordination across the United States. Data from a…

The authors collected data from 48 states and the District of Columbia regarding state policies that affect the participation of children with medical needs in licensed childcare. They began with a more narrowly focused agenda of identifying policies affecting children with medically complex needs, but because few regulations are directed to this…

Relationships among different person and environment characteristics of everyday natural learning opportunities and changes in child learning, behavior and performance were examined in a study with 63 parents and their infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with disabilities or delays. Findings showed that learning opportunities that were…

This article discusses why the universal adoption of family-centered values and practice in early intervention is problematic in the context of the current state of early intervention. Recommendations are provided for the new millennium, including participatory research in family-centered early intervention and personnel preparation based on…

An 18-month study of 18 children with disabilities attending inclusionary programs and 19 children (ages 24 months) attending classrooms in rehabilitation programs serving only children with disabilities, found that after one year of intervention there was no difference in developmental progress between the two groups of children. (Author/CR)

Early intervention services provided to 68 toddler-age children with disabilities were analyzed. Data were collected across family, child, and service characteristics. Children received services distributed across special instruction, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy delivered primarily at the childcare center. Individual…

This article provides a framework for early childhood special educators who are developing and implementing service systems for children with Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Services for these children should be family centered; delivered in inclusive, community-based environments; and have health care needs…

Research pointing to the need for routine support and followup for families with infants leaving Neonatal Intensive Care Units is described. A discharge planning process is then recommended, involving assessing the infant's needs, family functioning, family needs, and cultural considerations and linking families with community services. (JDD)