This study explored the experiences of Head Start parents who were becoming involved in their pre-school-age children's Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. Seven participants from the rural Midwest engaged in focus group (n = 2) or interview (n = 1) format discussions regarding barriers to involvement in the IEP process and…

This article describes a statewide online alternative teacher preparation program in early childhood special education. The history and evolution of the program is explained along with the programmatic changes that resulted from working with noncertified teachers with a wide variety of backgrounds in both rural and urban districts. Challenges and…

The roles of teachers and related service providers (e.g., speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists) are vital to skill acquisition and meaningful access to the general education curriculum for students who have been identified as having significant or extensive support needs. However, often delivery of…

The United States is becoming increasingly diverse with the largest growth in Hispanic populations. Diversity also is increasing in rural America. This diversity is reflected in the participants in early care and education programs and K-12 students. Unfortunately, demographics for college and university teacher education programs do not match…

National shortages of qualified personnel in the field of early childhood special education are well documented, with shortages magnified in regions characterized by poverty and rural geography. This article provides an overview of the challenges faced and innovations implemented by an alternate-track, personnel preparation program in Appalachian…

The purpose of this paper is to describe a pilot program (i.e., Internet-Based Parent-Implemented Communication Strategies [i-PiCS] program) that provides long-distance training and coaching via the Internet to parents of young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The i-PiCS program is designed to teach parents how to use evidence-based…

Despite a Child Find mandate in IDEA, early detection and screening of infants and toddlers with special needs continues to remain an area in need of improvement. The authors sought to better understand existing and proposed outreach initiatives in one state's Part C Early Intervention (EI) program that ranks among the lowest nationally in the…

Under the supervision of a licensed early intervention provider, paraprofessionals play an indispensable role in implementation of home and community-based services to infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities and their families in Colorado. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 requires that…

Early childhood transition services for children play a vital role in their successful entry to school; however, little is known regarding factors that may impact the use of various important transition practices. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a community demographic characteristic (specifically, rurality) on…