Young Exceptional Children recent issues

President's Message

Buysse, V. — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:27:20 PST

Improving Child Outcomes With Data-Based Decision Making: Interpreting and Using Data

Gischlar, K. L., Hojnoski, R. L., Missall, K. N. — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:27:20 PST

Individualized Inclusion Plans at Work in Early Childhood Classrooms

Hollingsworth, H. L., Able Boone, H., Crais, E. R. — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:27:20 PST

Listening for Details of Talk: Early Childhood Parent-Teacher Conference Communication Facilitators

Cheatham, G. A., Ostrosky, M. M. — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:27:20 PST

Resources Within Reason

Catlett, C. — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:27:20 PST

DEC Annoucements

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:27:20 PST

Early Childhood Inclusion: A Summary

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:27:20 PST

President's Message

Maude, S. P. — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:08:33 PDT

"Y'all Listenin?": Accessing Children's Dialects in Preschool YEC

Cheatham, G. A., Armstrong, J., Santos, R. M. — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:08:33 PDT

Improving Child Outcomes With Data-Based Decision Making: Graphing Data

Hojnoski, R. L., Gischlar, K. L., Missall, K. N. — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:08:33 PDT

Using Child Preferences to Increase Play Across Interest Centers in Inclusive Early Childhood Classrooms

DiCarlo, C. F., Vagianos, L. — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:08:33 PDT

Resources Within Reason

Catlett, C. — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:08:33 PDT

A place to discover good, inexpensive materials for providing effective services to young children and their families.

DEC Announcements

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:08:33 PDT

Early Childhood Inclusion

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:08:33 PDT

A Joint Position Statement of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

President's Message

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:45:16 PDT

The Bridge: An Authentic Literacy Assessment Strategy for Individualizing and Informing Practice With Young Children With Disabilities

Pierce, P. L., Summer, G., O'deKirk, M. — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:45:16 PDT

_Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?_ chant the 3- and 4-year-olds gathered for the emergent reading story time. It is Wednesday and the book has been read at least once each day this week. Today, the children confidently joined in on the repetitive phrase. Mary, a 4-year-old with autism, did not verbally participate when the other children chimed in, even when cued by the teacher's pause and inviting gaze. Mary instead bobbed her head in time with the repetitive phrase, a response captured by Helen, a classroom assistant. Helen has sticky labels for notes and pen in hand to observe and record emergent literacy advances of all the children. Later that day, during the children's rest time, Helen and Roberta reviewed the day's notes and events to better shape their plans for the next day. Helen asked Roberta, the classroom teacher, _Did you see Mary as you read today? Mary was bobbing her head in rhythm with the repetitive line from Brown Bear, Brown Bear! I was not sure at first she really was doing it, but I watched each time the line was chanted by the children, and she really was bobbing in rhythm._ _That would be a nice step forward in her phonological awareness,_ said Roberta. _Helen, tomorrow sit with Mary and when we read Brown Bear again, gently take her hands in yours and pat them on her legs in rhythm with the repeated line. Let's try that the next several times we read the book and see what happens. Also, pay attention during circle time when we greet the children by clapping the syllables in their names. See if Mary is bobbing with the syllables as the other children clap. Maybe she's been showing us in her way that she hears the rhythms in language. Let's get her literacy portfolio and make sure we document this!_ Roberta retrieved Mary's literacy portfolio, turned to the section on phonological-phonemic awareness and placed Helen's note in the file: _Mary bobbed her head in rhythm each time that the repetitive phrase `Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?' was read during circle time, 3/23/07._ _You know, Helen, according to the Bridge Rating Scale, the next skill Mary should exhibit will be naming or identifying sounds in the environment._ Roberta thought about Mary's limited language and realized she will probably not be naming sounds very soon. Roberta suggested to Helen, _Let's make a very small, four-picture sound lotto game using her picture board and get Joey to play with her tomorrow. I've noticed Joey playing side by side with Mary at the sand table. Maybe, with our support, they would play an abbreviated listening game together._ Roberta added, _Mary's mom will be so pleased to hear about what you saw today. Make sure we pass on some suggestions for using repeated lines and listening games for home too, since Mary might be ready for plenty of sound and rhythm play._ _Maybe we could make a sound lotto board for Mary to use with home sounds too,_ suggested Helen.

Using Interagency Collaboration to Support Family-Centered Transition Practices

Branson, D. M., Bingham, A. — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:45:16 PDT

Harry's mother, Lanie, looked around the table at all of the professionals who had come together to write Harry's Individualized Education Plan (IEP): Harry's service coordinator, the school district preschool coordinator, the early childhood preschool consultant, the child care center director, Harry's child care provider, and his physical therapist. She reflected back on the preparations that had led to this meeting: There were multiple conversations with Harry's service coordinator, a parent transition planning workshop sponsored by the school district that Lanie attended 3 months ago, and visits to several school district preschool programs to learn more about the continuum of services available for preschoolers. Lanie had initially dreaded thinking about Harry's transition at age 3; however, now that the time was closer, Lanie felt confident that both she and Harry were ready for any changes they might encounter.

Improving Child Outcomes With Data-Based Decision Making: Collecting Data

Hojnoski, R. L., Gischlar, K. L., Missall, K. N. — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:45:16 PDT

Ms. Carol is concerned about Dominique, one of the children in her preschool class, who has difficulty interacting appropriately with peers and often engages in aggressive behaviors. Ms. Carol wants to intervene with Dominique and collect data to see how she responds. Similarly, Ms. Kathy is concerned about the early literacy development of one of the children in her class. Jaylen does not seem to be acquiring phonological awareness skills at the same rate as his peers. Ms. Kathy wants to work with him individually and track his progress, but she is not sure how to go about doing this. Another teacher, Mr. Nick, has been working on increasing Trevor's participation in activities in his inclusive preschool classroom. However, after 3 months, Mr. Nick is not seeing much improvement in this area, according to his daily class notes. These teachers have similar needs and interests_they wish to intervene with children individually and intentionally and to systematically assess the effects of their efforts to determine whether the children are making adequate progress. Where do they start?

Resources Within Reason

Catlett, C., Winton, P. — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:45:16 PDT

DEC Announcements

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:45:16 PDT

President's Message

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:16:29 PDT

Finding Kirk's Words: An Infant Mental Health Approach to Preschool Intervention

Marsili, A., Hughes, M.-a. — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:16:29 PDT

Three-year-old Kirk arrived for his 1st day of preschool in November. Initially reluctant to let his parents leave, Kirk suddenly accepted their goodbyes and assumed a space near the library area. Staring past everyone, Kirk's eyes appeared vacant and fixed straight ahead. Occasionally his gaze would shift in response to a loud noise or someone's sudden movement. However, Kirk maintained the same blank expression and a rigid posture. As these early days turned to weeks, Kirk sustained the same blank gaze, flat facial expression, and rigid posture throughout the 4-hour preschool day. When he was calm enough to engage in an activity, it was almost exclusively solitary play, and Kirk had begun to growl at children who approached him directly. In addition, none of the staff had heard Kirk speak. There were grunts and growls, pointing and gesturing, but never a word spoken to his classmates or teachers. Interestingly, early conversations with Kirk's parents revealed that unlike the preschool environment, home was a place where Kirk spoke freely.

Learning About Sensory Integration Dysfunction: Strategies to Meet Young Children's Sensory Needs at Home

Thompson, S. D., Rains, K. W. — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:16:29 PDT

Drew is a 2-and-a-half-year-old boy. He is the youngest of four children, yet according to his mother, he is big for his age. Drew loves to play outside with his siblings. He has exceptional motor skills and can run and jump with his older brother. Drew loves to throw and catch, and he can play football with his brother. Drew is very affectionate; he loves to give hugs to his mother and sisters. Drew is learning to use words to get his needs met, and he recently began to combine words. He is always eager to help with chores and meal preparation. Drew has amazing strength, as he is able to carry two gallons of milk at a time, one in each hand. Drew's mother, Pam, has a hard time managing his disruptive behaviors. Pam is distraught because Drew is "ruling the household." He often throws fits when he cannot communicate his wants and needs. Drew can be a bully to his older siblings. He bites and hits his siblings, and they give in to Drew just to keep him from throwing a fit. Drew has a very hard time attending to any activity. He wanders the house at dinnertime; he wakes in the middle of the night and empties all of the toys out of his toy box or pulls things off tables and walls. His mother says that Drew feels no pain. He can run into the wall and not cry. He likes to run into furniture, wrestle with his older brother, and carry buckets of grain to feed the family's goats. Pam's concerns lead her to speak to her pediatrician, who referred her to an early intervention team for an evaluation. The assessment results showed evidence of a significant speech and language delay. The intervention team also expressed concern about Drew's interactions with his family. Pam was asked to complete the Sensory Profile (Dunn, 1997), a standardized instrument used to assess children who might have a sensory integration disorder. The questionnaire is completed by the caregiver and then scored by professionals, an early intervention team, in Drew's case. The results were shared with Pam and her developmental pediatrician. Drew was diagnosed with a sensory integration dysfunction (SID).

How to Promote Self-Determination for Young Children With Disabilities: Evidenced-Based Strategies for Early Childhood Practitioners and Families

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:16:29 PDT

Fran Martin, an early interventionist, arrives at the apartment of Jenny, a 3-year-old child with Down's syndrome, to provide services for Jenny and her mom, who is a single parent. Jenny is wearing a pretty pink dress that she chose to wear today. When she enters the family room, Fran is happy to see that the furniture has been rearranged to encourage Jenny's emerging gross motor activity while ensuring her safe use of the space. The toys provided are attractive and interesting to encourage Jenny's activity. Although Jenny has motor movement delays because of a cardiac condition and a number of surgeries to repair her malformed feet, she is beginning to pull up and shift her weight in a standing position. Fran talks with Jenny's mother about both her hopes and her concerns for her daughter. Fran and Jenny's mother continue to discuss ways to provide a safe environment that promotes movement that is both stimulating and interesting.

Resources Within Reason

Kern, P., Catlett, C., Winton, P. — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:16:29 PDT

DEC Announcements

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:16:29 PDT