Family-Centered Early Intervention: Supporting Infants and Toddlers in Natural Environments

Aligned with DEC recommended practices and CEC standards

A must for future early interventionists, this introductory text prepares professionals to support infants and toddlers with special needs and their families--and address the OSEP child outcomes so critical to a program's success. Focusing on the specific needs and challenges of children from birth to three, the book gathers more than a dozen expert contributors with proven expertise in helping children who have or are at risk for developmental delays. Early interventionists will learn recommended practices for family-centered, evidence-based intervention and team collaboration, knowledge they'll use for the rest of their careers to ensure the best possible outcomes for infants and young children. (Also great for inservice professional development )

LEARN THE FOUNDATIONS OF:

• addressing the three OSEP Child Outcome Indicators: positive social-emotional skills, acquisition and use of knowledge and skills, and using appropriate behaviors to meet needs
• developing and implementing IFSPs
• weaving intervention services into a family's established routines
• empowering parents to successfully guide and support their child's development
• conducting interventions that support motor, cognitive, social-emotional, communication, and adaptive skills
• making the most of natural learning opportunities in natural environments
• working in effective teams with professionals from diverse disciplines
• meeting the specific needs of children with all disabilities and/or risk areas, including autism, sensory disabilities, and cognitive and/or motor disabilities

STUDENT-FRIENDLY FEATURES: "Best Practice Highlights" with specific intervention suggestions, helpful discussion questions, case studies in each chapter that illustrate the recommended strategies.

See how this product helps strengthen Head Start program quality and school readiness.

Sharon A. Raver, a professor of Special Education at Old Dominion University, has worked in the area of Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) for over 35 years. She has worked with infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school-aged children with special needs, and their families. She has administered programs, served as an international ECSE consultant, and published extensively. Her other books include: Early childhood special education (0-8 years): Strategies for positive outcomes (2009), Intervention strategies for infants and toddlers with special needs: A team approach (1999; 2nd ed.), and Strategies for teaching at-risk and handicapped infants and toddlers: A transdisciplinary approach (1991). She has been a Fulbright Scholar three times and received a number of awards for excellence in research and teaching. She currently lives in Norfolk, Virginia.

Dana C. Childress has worked in the field of early intervention for almost 20 years as an early childhood special educator, service coordinator, supervisor, professional development consultant and writer. She currently works as part of Virginia’s early intervention professional development team developing resources, conducting web-based and in-person training, and managing the content for the Virginia Early Intervention Professional Development Centerâ (TM)s website (www.eidp.vcu.edu). She also writes and manages the Centerâ (TM)s Early Intervention Strategies for Success blog (www.veipd.org/earlyintervention). Dana’s interests include family centered practices, autism spectrum disorders, supporting family implementation of intervention strategies, and finding ways to bridge the research to practice gap through interactive professional development for in-service early intervention practitioners. She regularly presents workshops in VA and has presented at state, national, and international conferences. She currently lives in Chesapeake, VA with her family.