Transition Class: A Bridge from Early Intervention to Early Childhood Special Education

Transitions are widely acknowledged to present challenges for young children with special needs. In the US system, the transition from early intervention (EI; services for children aged 0–3) to early childhood special education services (ECSE; services for preschool children) is a process known to cause uncertainty and anxiety for families. This paper describes a transition class offered by a midwestern US EI agency; children receiving EI services are eligible to participate beginning at age 2;6. Agency personnel chart the children’s progress each week. For this study, researchers reviewed de-identified weekly progress reports for the 40 transition class participants who attended at least 6 class sessions. Class participants demonstrated highly significant changes across time in their tolerance for separation from parents/caregivers and their participation in structured class activities. These preliminary findings suggest that a structured class with familiar service providers may support young children in acquiring skills they will need for a successful transition to ECSE

Rare Vocabulary Production in School-age Narrators from Low-income Communities

Purpose: This study was designed to assess the utility of a tool for automated analysis of rare vocabulary use in the spoken narratives of a group of school-age children from low-income communities. Method: We evaluated personal and fictional narratives from 76 school-age children from lowincome communities (mean age = 9;3). We analyzed children's use of rare vocabulary in their narratives, with the goal of evaluating relationships among rare vocabulary use, performance on standardized language tests, language sample measures, sex, and use of African American English (AAE). Results: Use of rare vocabulary in school-age children is robustly correlated with established language sample measures. Male sex was also significantly associated with more frequent rare vocabulary use. There was no association between rare vocabulary use and use of AAE. Discussion: Evaluation of rare vocabulary use in school-age children may be a culturally fair assessment strategy that aligns well with existing language sample measures.Communication Sciences and Disorder