A Phenomenological Examination of the Influence of Culture on Treating and Caring for Hispanic Children with Autism

Researchers have found that cultural factors may lead to lower rates of diagnosis in Hispanic children with autism and that parents lack the knowledge of therapies and practices used in the treatment of the autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Five research questions guided this phenomenological study. The focus of the first two questions was how culture may affect families seeking assistance; the third question queried how professionals play a part in the choice of therapies ; the fourth question dealt with how do families choose a therapy to aid their child with ASD. The focus of the last question was the involvement of other family members. The major themes included professional influences, concerns for children’s futures as adults, parental involvement, and personalismo/familismo. The outcomes of the study demonstrate the influence professionals have on the families and the choices families make to aid their children with ASD. These findings will assist professionals to understand the Hispanic culture as it may relate to having a child with ASD and thus assist families to understand how to acquire the services needed

Are Those Her Uncles or Dads: Working with Parents Who are Gay

This session will address strategies for including gay parents in early childhood settings. The term gay is to be inclusive of both gay men and lesbians. Specific strategies for including these families in a respectful manner will be addressed. Current research and literature will be shared with participants

Not Another One: The Over Identification of Hispanic Children in ECSE

This session presents a current study that examined the overrepresentation of Hispanic English language learners in early childhood settings. Results of this phenomenological study will be reviewed along with implications for practitioners. Participants will gain an understanding of the needs of English language learners and ways to increase school professionals\u27 efficacy

Identification of Hispanic English Language Learners in Special Education

Overrepresentation of English language learners (ELLs) in special education is a current problem. Urban school professionals indicated that inappropriate placement is linked to a multiplicity of factors. Scarce data exist regarding the relationship between school professional efficacy beliefs, the availability of bilingual programs and personnel for ELLs, and successful academic outcomes. School employees are still confused about the proper placement of English language learners (ELLs). What is enough time to acquire a second language and learn with success? Without other substantial program choices, children are referred to special education. Furthermore, many students in need of special education may be overlooked and remain in ESL programs for their entire school career. The aim of this study was to identify the role staff member’s efficacy plays in the proper determination of an ELL with a language difference or disability. Child study team (CST) members (n=14) working with a large Hispanic ELL population participated in semistructured interviews to determine the role their efficacy beliefs exert during assessment of linguistically diverse students. Overwhelmingly, staff members noted that they did not feel competent when making decisions regarding ELLs. Therefore, staff members placed the children into special education each time. The practice implications come from the prominent themes that include significant in-district professional development on second language acquisition, facilitation of second language through use of first language through bilingual staff, and committed bilingual programs to meet ELL needs. Additionally, universities must provide coursework that furthers second language acquisition theories and strategies for all teacher candidate programs

The Outdoors as a Learning Environment: Fostering Postive Inclusive Interactions

This workshop will use DEC Recommended Practices to describe strategies and techniques to establish the outside as a learning environment. Modifications, adaptations, and assistive technology used to create an active, inclusive environment will be shared along with handouts and videos

Environmental Modification and Teacher Mediation: Impact on the Literacy Behaviors of Preschoolers With Special Needs

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of modifications to the environment and a teacher mediated intervention in regard to the early literacy behaviors of preschoolers receiving early childhood special education services. There were three classrooms targeted. Out of the three classrooms, there was a focus on nine children with developmental delay. Step one was to complete a classroom assessment to identify the early literacy supports needed for each classroom. Step two was to collect baseline literacy behaviors during center time, a period when children are allowed to choose their activities. Step 3 was to implement the intervention of adding literacy props and a teacher mediation intervention. Results were consistent with previous studies in that the addition of literacy props, paired with teacher mediation, led to an increase in literacy behaviors. Data will be shared in regard to the results of the intervention for both classroom and individual student data

Making it Real: Using Field-Based and Practice-Based Experiences in Personnel Preparation

This panel presentation will describe engaging, evidence-based methods for preparing EC/ECSE personnel using practice-based experiences. Strategies include field placement, video analysis, self-analysis, peer and faculty coaching, and case study. Practice-based experiences will be aligned closely with DEC RP and CEC preparation standards. Challenges, suggestions, and free resources will be discussed

Using Least-To-Most Assistive Prompt Hierarchy to Increase Child Compliance With Teacher Directives in Preschool Classrooms

Prompt strategies have been used to increase the compliance of preschool-aged children to teacher directives (Radley & Dart, 2015; Wilder & Atwell, 2006; Wolery & Gast, 1984). This paper describes two experiments conducted to determine if classroom teachers could learn to use the LtM prompt hierarchy and if child compliance would increase in response to teacher behavior. This study builds on the current literature base by using prompting, specifically LtM (first described by Horner & Keilitz, 1975), with the additional requirement of teacher-child proximity and teacher- child eye level prior to beginning the prompt sequence, which is consistent with recommended practice in early childhood (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). The participants consisted of 6 preschool teachers, with varying levels of education and experience, across 2 different early childhood classrooms. Teacher prompts and children\u27s completion of teacher directives were measured during free choice center time. Results were consistent with previous research (Wilder & Atwell, 2006; Wolery & Gast, 1984) in that compliance to teacher directives increased in preschool children with the implementation of the LtM