Appropriate Social Behavior: Teaching Expectations to Young Children

Young children\u27s challenging behavior can impact all aspects of the classroom environment, including relationships (peer–peer, student–teacher), learning, and safety. Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a program that focuses on supporting pro-social behaviors and preventing challenging behavior. PBIS begins with building a foundation of universal practices and creating a common language that teachers, children, and families can use to talk about behavior. The identification and defining of appropriate behavioral expectations and the systematic teaching of those behavioral expectations is paramount to preventing challenging behavior. This article describes the steps involved in identifying classroom behavioral expectations and the development of developmentally appropriate lesson plans to teach those behaviors to young children

A Family Strengths Approach to Early Language and Literacy Development

Language and literacy skills are an essential element of young children’s development and allow them to interact meaningfully with other people and to develop knowledge in all subject areas. Despite the importance of language and literacy development, however, more than one third of children in the United States enter school with significant differences in language, early literacy skills, and motivation to learn that place them at considerable risk for developing long-term reading difficulties. The quantity and quality of language interactions children have with their parents and exposure to print in their home environment prior to entering school have an important impact on these individual differences. This paper provides teachers with guidelines and tools for helping families identify and create language and literacy opportunities in their home environment that reflect their unique strengths and routines

An Exploratory Investigation of Frequently Cited Articles From the Early Childhood Intervention Literature, 1994 to 2005

The authors explored frequently cited articles across four peer-reviewed journals in early intervention (EI) and early childhood special education (ECSE). The Social Science Citation Index was used to examine journal articles from 1994 to 2005 in: Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Infants and Young Children, Journal of Early Intervention, and Topics in Early Childhood Special Education. Results for the most frequently cited EI/ECSE journal articles are reported

Enhancing Language Learning Opportunities in Family Contexts for Young Learners With or At Risk for Communicative Developmental Delay: An Initial Investigation

Though the early years of life are critical for any child, this period may be especially crucial for young children who are at risk for or presently evidencing developmental delays. Bruder (2001) offered several rationales for the provision of early intervention. First, the earlier that children with such issues are identified and provided services, the greater the likelihood that the child will benefit. Early intervention services can reduce or eliminate developmental delays, moving children out of a risk category (e.g., from “Delayed” to “Typically developing”) (Glascoe, 2005). In addition to these immediate effects, early intervention can have a significant impact on the subsequent developmental status of the child (Barnett & Belfield, 2006). Second, families receive invaluable support from these early intervention services (Sandall, Hemmeter, Smith, & McLean, 2005). Indeed, the very conceptual foundation of the Individualized Family Services Plan (IFSP), the intervention plan developed and implemented for children up to age six who evidence developmental delays (as opposed to the school-age Individualized Education Program) is that it is the family as much as the young child who is need of support and services. Finally, Bruder (2010) concluded that early intervention programs offer economic advantages to schools and communities. As participants in these programs gain skills and enhance their developmental status, educational and post-school programs benefit from the decreased costs of special education and disability services support that would otherwise be required for school-aged children and adults with disabilities. The primacy of the role of the family in first identifying developmental delays and then providing support for interventions is difficult to overstate (Sandall et al., 2005). Families provide this support through collaboration with early intervention professionals by facilitating the early intervention at home, while providing supplemental opportunities for the child to practice emergent skills at home and in the community

Parent-completed developmental screening for preschool children: A study of concurrent validity and reliability

xviii, 147 p. A print copy of this title is available from the UO Libraries, under the call number: KNIGHT LB1131 .P64 2008Identifying children with developmental delays or disabilities as early as possible is a growing concern and has increased focus on the development of valid, reliable screening tools. The previous editions of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) have been investigated and found to be valid and reliable for screening children at risk for delay and in need of further evaluation. This study examined the psychometric properties of a newly revised third edition, including the utility of the addition of a "monitor" scoring category with preschool age children. Participants included 59 child/parent dyads ages 45-65 months with either no known risk factors ( n = 39) or one or more risk factors ( n = 20). Results from data analyses evaluating the psychometric properties were promising. Validity was investigated by examining concurrent validity using the Battelle Developmental Inventory, 2 nd Edition (BDI-2). Classifications (i.e., "typically developing" or "identified") of child's performance based on the domain scores of the ASQ were compared to the classifications of the child's performance based on total developmental quotient scores of the BDI-2. Percentage of agreement between classifications (91%) was computed. Based on BDI-2 and ASQ agreement, specificity was 91%, sensitivity 100%, and positive predictive value 20%. Reliability was examined with test-retest, inter-observer, and internal consistency. Intraclass correlations (ICC) and percent agreement were used to calculate test-retest and inter-observer reliability. ICC for test-retest ranged from .29 to a .88 when comparing individual domain scores from time one to time two. Percent agreement was calculated by comparing classifications at time one to classifications at time two, with 96% agreement. ICC for inter-observer reliability ranged from .22 to 1.00, with a percent agreement of 100%. Internal consistency means were calculated at: communication .66, gross motor.70, fine motor.52, problem solving .35, and personal-social .61. Results from the analyses addressing the utility of a "monitor" scoring category and using learning activities suggested that (a) parents and teachers found the activities easy to understand and use, and (b) the learning activities would be effective with a child scoring in this category.Adviser: Jane K. Squire

Developmental Screening: A Review of Contemporary Practice

The early years of childhood are critical for optimal development of a variety of skills. The accurate and efficient identification of potential delays in, or issues with child development, is essential in identifying those children most in need of early intervention services. Screening procedures are designed to identify children who appear at risk for these delays or issues, with the children then more completely and comprehensively evaluated. Unfortunately, screening procedures during the preschool years remain nonsystematic, inefficient, and/or prohibitively expensive. This is especially unfortunate in that the data clearly suggest that children with developmental issues or delays who are identified early and begin receiving appropriate intervention services demonstrate a number of gains and advantages over their peers who do not participate in such programs. Specific barriers to more widespread and systematic screening procedures include the nation’s increasing cultural and linguistic diversity, increasing socio-economic status diversity, limited access to such systematic sources of screening such as medical services and child care centers, and high costs of screening procedures administered by professionals. A promising alternative to professional screening is the use of parent-completed screening questionnaires

Creating Print-Rich Learning Centers

The article offers ways on how teachers can create a print-rich pre-school environment to help children improve their literacy skills. It mentions that teachers can share books to children for them to become motivated in learning. It also suggests the need to provide writing materials that encourage children\u27s language development and self-expression. Furthermore, teachers can conduct a dramatic play to allow children to take on roles and express their ideas

Tier 2 Team Processes and Decision-Making in a Comprehensive Three-Tiered Model

Three-tiered models of academic and behavioral support are being increasingly adopted across the nation, and with that adoption has come an increasing message that designing and implementing effective practices alone is not enough. Systems are needed to help staff to collectively implement best practices. These systems, as well as effective processes for collecting and using data for decision-making, are necessary at each tier. This article outlines the systems considerations and decision-making processes for Tier 2 adopted by one elementary school in the implementation of a combined response to intervention (RTI) and school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) model

Introduction to the Special Issue: The Critical Role of a Strong Tier 2 System

The purpose of this special issue is to help schools better understand how they might get started with implementing a strong Tier 2 system within the context of a multitiered service delivery model. The promise of multitiered service delivery models is that students who struggle can be identified early and receive interventions before their challenges become intractable. In this issue, a series of articles describe how one school implemented Tier 2 systems to address the needs of struggling students in reading, math, writing, and behavior. In addition, the systems that schools need to facilitate Tier 2 implementation are described

Lessons Learned From a Tiered Service Delivery Implementation Project

Tiered models of service delivery for both academics and behavior are being increasingly adopted across the nation, and discussions of how to implement these models effectively and simultaneously are growing. In this article, the authors share some lessons learned from a 2-year implementation project to implement a comprehensive (both academic and behavior) model of tiered service delivery in an elementary school. The authors discuss four major issues that arose during implementation, including signs for predicting these challenges and insights into how they can be addressed