The first step in documenting children's progress toward important goals, such as developing strong oral language and early literacy skills, requires measurable outcomes. Measurable outcomes contribute to teachers' understanding of whether the gains they observe in children are meaningful by adding quantitative evaluation of a child's progress…

The first meetings with a family, including the first Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) meeting, set the tone for the family's emerging relationship with early intervention professionals. The IFSP meeting and document are a vehicle for parents and professionals to partner together to target outcomes that are meaningful to the family and to…

Alaska Native peoples refer to themselves and their way of life as the "way of the human being" (Napolean, 1991). This term, referred to as "Yuuyaraq" by the Yup'ik Eskimo, speaks to the value the Yup'ik and other Alaskan Natives place on being fully human. Within the context of the "way of the human life," how can early interventionists and…

There will always be circumstances in which children do not follow adults' instructions or are unwilling to participate in certain activities. When noncompliance become recurrent, a child's functioning in home, school, and community settings can be affected. Often, these children miss out on a variety of experiences by virtue of being unengaged.…

One of the challenges for young children with communication disabilities and limited expressive language is learning to communicate in effective ways. Often, children communicate using idiosyncratic behavior and unconventional means. Their communication may even mirror that of very young children who are prelinguistic (e.g., reach for an item or…

The daily educational experiences of a young child affect not only the child but also the family. The time and energy a family invests to achieve optimal educational experiences will likely impact the whole family system. As such, early education service providers are responsible for decreasing the challenges that parents experience so that…

During the toddler years, nonverbal communication becomes more prominent and developmental differences for children who would later be diagnosed with autism become more distinct. One difference concerns joint attention, a critical milestone that typically emerges during the last quarter of the first year of life and is consolidated at around 18…

The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children is a professional association whose responsibility is to develop and disseminate standards of practice related to young children with special needs and their families. The intention is to identify practices that result in high-quality early intervention/early childhood…

Meaningful assessments should inform early childhood intervention practices. The essential relationship between assessment and curriculum is an organizing principle of the Division of Early Childhood Recommended Practices. One tool that combines assessment and curriculum into a comprehensive system for supporting and serving young children and…

The growing use of the term "evidence-based" in conference presentations, web sites, journal articles and grants announcements suggest definitive answers to a host of practice-related issues. The purpose of this paper is to address the questions of: (1) defining evidence-based practice; (2) how evidence-based practice differs from other practices;…

The purpose of this article is to: (a) briefly present the rationale for positive behavior support (PBS) as an effective approach for families and their young children with challenging behaviors; (b) identify the a key elements of PBS and the role of families within the planning process; and (c) provide information on how to collaborate…

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…

Inclusive programs and community settings are important contexts to help foster acceptance and understanding among all children. Research has shown that children enrolled in inclusive programs become more accepting of people who are different from them. Inclusion of children with disabilities in classroom activities requires the involvement of…

The authors describe a zone defense schedule (ZDS), a system for organizing the staff and environment of a preschool classroom. Specifically, it is used to organize the roles of adults in the classroom so that transitions between activities are easier for children and provides greater opportunity for teaching (both during the transition and…

Playdates are a regular part of life of many preschool age children, and when a child with disabilities cannot participate in the typical playdates of childhood, they, and their parents, feel isolated and lonely. This article discusses different aspects of running successful playdates for children with autism and other developmental disabilities.…