Early intervention (EI) for children with physical disabilities is advocated as a means of enhancing child outcomes and family functioning. The issues confronted by service providers in delivering this support have received relatively little attention. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the experiences of frontline EI staff…

All eligible infants and toddlers who receive early intervention services under Part C of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are entitled to service coordination. To examine the effectiveness of one state's service coordination training and its impact on knowledge and skill development, a pretest--posttest design with follow-up…

This article uses the developmental systems approach, an approach developed by M. Guralnick (2001), with an aim to assess and evaluate early childhood intervention (ECI) practices in Australia. The author explores the Australian national context of ECI and its complexities and conclude with recommendations to address (a) the possibility of a…

This study used a survey approach to investigate the current state of speech-language preservice academic and clinical preparation for providing early intervention (EI) services to culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) populations. Information was obtained from speech-language pathologists (SLPs) employed in EI settings regarding their…

The aim of this study was to examine and describe the effect of gender and socioeconomic status (SES) on preschool-aged children's overall development. Two hundred fifty-five preschoolers (125 boys and 130 girls), with a mean age of 56 plus or minus 9 months, were randomly selected from day care centers and kindergartens of different areas of…

The purpose of this study was to identify current practices in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) screening among early intervention and care providers in Indiana. Participants were asked about their ASD screening practices within the context of overall screening for developmental delays. Results indicated that providers conduct ASD screening less…

Despite calls for adoption and use of triadic early intervention practices, remarkably little research has prospectively compared this approach with traditional, provider-led service delivery. The aim of this study was to compare the actions of providers and caregivers within triadic and provider-led interactions with regard to the following: (1)…

The purpose of the analysis reported in this article was to determine to what extent child and classroom characteristics were associated with the amount of time children with disabilities spent displaying each of 5 categories of engagement. Predictors consisted of children's receipt of incidental teaching, developmental quotient, and quality of…

The effects of economic hardship and language isolation in children's neighborhood communities were examined to determine their influence on young children's developmental outcomes on measures of academic and social skills above and beyond child and family characteristics that included home language, disability, gender, and mother's education…

The purpose of this article was to describe a taxonomy of pretend play for children with disabilities based on a systematic review of the literature to characterize pretend play. Thirty-seven studies were identified as measuring pretend play in children with disabilities. Several inconsistencies were found in the measurement of pretend play across…

Family-centered practice encompasses a philosophy and a method of service delivery that underpins early intervention services and is considered "best practice" in fields concerned with optimal child development. The aim of this study was to gain a critical understanding of parental experiences of an early intervention service that professionals…

Early positive relationships between children and adults are critical in the acquisition of children's problem-solving skills. The early teacher-child relationship has an important role in how a child negotiates the conflicts and manages relationships with peers. Our purpose was to evaluate the effect of the teacher-child relationship at…

States and territories participating in Part C services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) are required to design and implement a comprehensive system of personnel development. In this article, an apprenticeship model used in one state will be described. The range of factors influencing how this model was implemented and…

This study was designed to investigate the association of quality of Portuguese inclusive preschool classrooms with the social acceptance of children with disabilities. Sixty-four inclusive preschool classrooms from 28 randomly selected school groups from the district of Lisbon participated in this study. Classroom quality was not associated with…

This article provides an overview and the results of the Crosswalks Intervention, which was developed, implemented, and evaluated to support inclusive early childhood preservice programs to be more reflective of, and responsive to, cultural and linguistic diversity. The Crosswalks Intervention, funded by the US Department of Education, was a…