Understanding Self-Determination and Families of Young Children with Disabilities in Home Environments

This article is about emergent self-determination for young children with disabilities in their home environments. The purpose of this study was to better understand family and home characteristics and how they influence the ways in which families can support the development of self-determination for their children with disabilities. Thirty families of young children with disabilities were interviewed, and their homes were systematically observed. Using a grounded theory design, an emergent model was developed that examined family and home context and the influence of context on the strategies that families used to support self-determination. Future research and practice implications of this research for supporting families are discussed

Comprehensive analysis of Arabidopsis expression level polymorphisms with simple inheritance

In Arabidopsis thaliana, gene expression level polymorphisms (ELPs) between natural accessions that exhibit simple, single locus inheritance are promising quantitative trait locus (QTL) candidates to explain phenotypic variability. It is assumed that such ELPs overwhelmingly represent regulatory element polymorphisms. However, comprehensive genome-wide analyses linking expression level, regulatory sequence and gene structure variation are missing, preventing definite verification of this assumption. Here, we analyzed ELPs observed between the Eil-0 and Lc-0 accessions. Compared with non-variable controls, 5′ regulatory sequence variation in the corresponding genes is indeed increased. However, ∼42% of all the ELP genes also carry major transcription unit deletions in one parent as revealed by genome tiling arrays, representing a >4-fold enrichment over controls. Within the subset of ELPs with simple inheritance, this proportion is even higher and deletions are generally more severe. Similar results were obtained from analyses of the Bay-0 and Sha accessions, using alternative technical approaches. Collectively, our results suggest that drastic structural changes are a major cause for ELPs with simple inheritance, corroborating experimentally observed indel preponderance in cloned Arabidopsis QTL

Understanding self-determination and families of young children with disabilities in home environments

This article is about emergent self-determination for young children with disabilities in their home environments. The purpose of this study was to better understand family and home characteristics and how they influence the ways in which families can support the development of self-determination for their children with disabilities. Thirty families of young children with disabilities were interviewed, and their homes were systematically observed. Using a grounded theory design, an emergent model was developed that examined family and home context and the influence of context on the strategies that families used to support self-determination. Future research and practice implications of this research for supporting families are discussed

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

Fran Martin, an early interventionist, arrives at the apartment of Jenny, a 3-year-old child with Down\u27s 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\u27s emerging gross motor activity while ensuring her safe use of the space. The toys provided are attractive and interesting to encourage Jenny\u27s 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\u27s mother about both her hopes and her concerns for her daughter. Fran and Jenny\u27s mother continue to discuss ways to provide a safe environment that promotes movement that is both stimulating and interesting

Performance: A Strategy for Professional Development in Early Childhood Teacher Preparation

The purpose of this article is to propose performance as a creative instructional strategy to convey complex competencies related to understanding and working effectively with families in early childhood education. Performance derives from performance ethnography, which is a qualitative research methodology. Its application to professional development enables students and in-service participants not only to hear the voices of families, but to experience them through performance. This article describes the advantages and disadvantages of performance as an approach to professional development and illustrates the development and application of an example performance. Authors discuss how faculty, researchers, and those responsible for professional development can use performance to bridge the gap between research and practice and to move early childhood educators towards greater family-centered competencies when serving diverse families and children

Foundations for Self-Determination in Early Childhood: An Inclusive Model for Children with Disabilities

This article introduces the Early Childhood Foundations Model for Self-Determination and provides a rationale for the need to consider the foundations of self-determination behavior that begin early in life. This model is based on the premise that young children with disabilities benefit from a collaborative partnership between important adults in the lives of children to provide a supportive, stimulating, and coordinated environment between inclusive classrooms and home settings. Within partnership, the Foundations Model establishes the proposition that the basic foundational skills for developing self-determination in later life require young children with disabilities to gain skills in (a) choice-making and problem solving, (b) self-regulation, and (c) engagement. In this position paper, the authors review literature related to these three foundational constructs and present a rationale for use of the Foundations Model as a guide to developing systematic interventions to start young students with disabilities on the road to building a foundation for self-determination