Challenging behavior is often a source of frustration for parents. Challenging behavior is defined as any behavior that interferes with children's learning and development, is harmful to children and to others, and puts a child at risk for later social problems or school failure (Bailey & Wolery, 1992; Kaiser & Rasminsky, 2003). Children's…

Parents play important roles as advocates for their child with a disability. Advocacy is the process of striving to improve the quality of life for someone else. The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires parents and professionals to work together to design a service delivery plan for children with disabilities. An…

Under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act Amendments of 2004, special educators and related services personnel are required to support a child with disabilities in the setting deemed the least restrictive and most natural for that particular child. There is considerable variation in the consultation experiences and skills…

Nurturing potential is a critical aspect of development for young children with and without disabilities, especially if a child is gifted. This article provides resources that offer ideas for family members and professionals on how to recognize and support each child's strengths. Many of the materials specifically address nurturing potential in…

This article provides early childhood practitioners a way to develop a common understanding of the importance of play in the early learning experience of young children. Meaningful discussion among teachers, parents, administrators, and teacher candidates regarding play in early childhood education programs is critical to ensure the growth and…

Some young children show signs that they may not be learning in an expected manner, even during the prekindergarten (PreK) years. These children may exhibit learning challenges in areas such as developing language, counting objects, hearing differences in letter sounds, paying attention during story time, or learning how to write. Teachers,…

Most efforts to understand and support self-determination have dealt solely with adolescents and adults, sometimes overlooking and excluding the foundations in early childhood that are required for successful emergence of self-determination. The purpose of this article is to share what is known about early self-determination and to suggest how…

Practitioners and parents are seeking ways to help children who are not able to integrate sensory information; this has generated recent media attention. A child's inability to integrate sensory information can have implications for the whole family and their everyday routines. Research conducted by occupational therapists has provided a rich…

Self-regulation and self-determination are part of a continuum of behaviors that are acquired through interaction with the social and physical environment and through problem solving based on experiences that begin in infancy and build throughout early childhood. These abilities should be nurtured early for all children, especially within the…

In this article, the author describes how early childhood professionals can create positive environments that foster the growth of both oral and written language and how the concept of universal design can inform these practices. These activities are designed with a focus on children 3 to 5 years old. The author first looks at oral language…

Tess is a joyful eight-year old girl with epilepsy, frontal lobe dysfunction, and dyspraxia, as well as delays in language, fine motor, and gross motor skills. However, despite her disabilities, Tess happily embraces life. With assistance from a few support professionals, Tess currently functions successfully in a regular education second grade…

Transitions--from hospital to home, early intervention to preschool, child care to school--are times of major change for children and families. The resources presented in this article can be used to build the capacity of family members, professionals, and administrators to understand and support transition practices that are thoughtful,…

The home is the most frequently used location for providing early intervention supports and services. However, practices to address child development outcomes have shifted from direct, hands-on "treatment" to supporting families through collaboration and consultation so that they can promote their child's development by using identified…

Once children have entered into the early intervention system, ongoing developmentally appropriate assessment is crucial. A critical component is monitoring child progress in relation to education and intervention goals or outcomes. For infants and toddlers, whose performance often cannot be documented using traditional assessment and…

This article discusses disability as one aspect of diversity in inclusive early childhood classrooms and offers a framework for evaluating children's books that address disability as a part of diversity. The nine criteria are explained and discussed: illustrations, story line, lifestyles, relationships, self-image, author/illustrator backgrounds,…