ERIC ED370253: DEC Recommended Practices: Indicators of Quality in Programs for Infants and Young Children with Special Needs and Their Families.

147 Pages·1993·2.7 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
EC 301 933
ED 370 253
DEC Recommended Practices: Indicators of Quality in
TITLE
Programs for Infants and Young Children with Special
Needs and Their Families.
Council for Exceptional Children, Reston, VA. Div.
INSTITUTION
for Early Childhood.
ISBN-0-86586-234-6
REPORT NO
PUB DATE
93
148p.; For each recommended practice, see EC 301
NOTE
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Adaptive Behavior (of Disabled); Cognitive
DESCRIPTORS
Development; Communication Skills; Curriculum;
Delivery Systems; *Disabilities; Early Childhood
Education; *Early Intervention; Educational
Assessment; *Educational Practices; *Educational
Quality; Emotional Development; Family Involvement;
*Gifted; Individualized Education Programs; Infants;
Interpersonal Competence; Program DevelopmenL;
Program Evaluation; Psychomotor Skills; Special
Education; Special Needs Students; Student
Evaluation; Transitional Programs; *Young Children
Council for Exceptional Children; Individualized
IDENTIFIERS
Family Service Plans; *Quality Indicators
ABSTRACT
This document describes a set of indicators that the
Division for Early Childhood (DEC) Task Force on Recommended
Practices recommends for early intervention and early childhood
special education (EI/ECSE) programs for infants and young children
with special needs and their families. The indicators are designed to
be used by professionals in examining practices currently employed in
EI/ECSE programs and in developing programs, and for families to use
in selecting a program. The indicators are research-based or
value-based, family-centd, compatible with a multicultural
perspective, involving members of various disciplines,
developmentally and chronologically age appropriate, and normalized.
Indicators address the following specific program areas: assessment,
family participation, individualized family service plans and
individualized education programs, service delivery models, general
curriculum and intervention strategies, interventions to promote
cognitive skills, interventions to promote communication skills,
interventions to promote social skills and emotional development,
interventions to promote adaptive behavior skills, interventions to
promote motor skills, transition, personnel competence, program
evaluation, and early intervention with children who are gifted. For
each set of indicators, a narrative discussion outlines a rationale
for inclusion and implications for intervention. References accompany
each section. (JDD)
EDUCATION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
of Educational Research and Improvement
01 hes
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
CENTER (ERIC)
dThes document has been reprodixed as
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onginating it
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DEC Recommended Practices:
Indicators of Quality in Programs for Infants
and Young Children with Special Needs
and Their Families
"PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS
MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY
CEC
TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)."
DEC Task Force on Recommended Practices
1993
COPY AVAILABLE
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Copyright ° 1993 by Division for Early Childhood
Council for Exceptional Children
ISBN 0-86586-234-6
D417
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DEC Recommended Practices:
Indicators of Quality in Programs for Infants and Young
Children with Special Needs and Their Families
Division for Early Childhood, Council for Exceptional Children
DEC Executive Office
320 East North Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15212
412/359-1636
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Division for Early Childhood.
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DEC Recommended Practices:
Indicators of Quality in Programs for Infants and Young
Children with Special Needs and Their Families
Task Force on Recommended Practices
Division for Early Childhood
Council for Exceptional Children
1993
Acknowledgements
The Task Force would like to acknowledge the great assistance provided by
individuals involved in the process of creating this document. At Vanderbilt University, Ms.
Pam Neidert was instrumental in preparing the final draft of this product. During the
validation study, Dr. Odom received support from the postdoctoral training program at the
University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), coordinated by Dr. Mel Semmel. Ms.
Gretchen Butera and the students in the Early Childhood Program at UCSB provided great
assistance in piloting early drafts of the validation questionnaire. At Auburn University, Ms.
Altamese Stroud-Hill prepared the validation questionnaire, and Mrs. Toni Locklar and Mrs.
Keren Self were responsible for organizing and implementing both mailings of the
questionnaire. At the University of North T7f....kota, Mickey Koerner typed and maintained the
lists of all of those who participated in the validation process.
Special acknowledgement also
goes to the staff of the Auburn Intervention Model (Project AIM), Auburn, Alabama, for
their assistance in piloting the validation questionnaire. Dr. Larry Johnson at the University
of Cincinnati coordinated the data analysis of the validation survey results, and was assisted
by Maggie La Montaigne. Ms. Joan Ramsey was very helpful in organizing conference calls
and coordinating communications with the DEC Executive Office. Last, and very
importantly, the many DEC members, family members, and higher education personnel who
read, evaluated, and commented upon the indicators during the validation survey provided
invaluable zssistance.
Samuel L. Odom and Mary E. McLean
Co-Chairpersons,
DEC Recommended Practices Task Force
Table of Contents
Establishing Recommended Practices for Programs for Infants and
Young Children with Special Needs and Their Families
1
11
Assessment
17
DEC Recommended Practices
19
Family Participation
26
DEC Recommended Practices
30
IFSPs and IEPs
37
DEC Recommended Practices
40
Service Delivery Models
47
DEC Recommended Practices
50
General Curriculum and Intervention Strategies
58
DEC Recommended Practices
61
Interventions to Promote Cognitive Skills
68
DEC Recommended Practice
69
Interventions to Promote Communication Skills
75
DEC Recommended Practices
77
Interventions to Promote Social: Skills and Emotional Development
82
DEC Recommended Practices
84
Interventions to Promote Adaptive Behavior Skills
90
DEC Recommended Practices
91
Interventions to Promote Motor Skills
95
DEC Recommended Practices
96
Transition
105
DEC Recommended Practices
107
Personnel Competence
114
DEC Recommended Practices
118
Program Evaluation
124
DEC Recommended Practices
127
Early Intervention with Children who are Gifted
135
DEC Recommended Practices
ii
t
Chairpersons
fo-Chairpersons of DEC Recommended Practices Task Force
Samuel L. Odom, Vanderbilt University
Mary E. McLean, University of North Dakota
Assessment
John T. Neisworth, Pennsylvania State University
Family Participation
Lisbeth Vincent, California State University at Los Angeles
Julie Beckett, University of Iowa
IEP/IFSP
Ann Turnbull, University of Kansas
Corrine Garland, Child Development Resources
Service Delivery Models
Philip Strain, Allegheny-Singer Research Institute
Robin Mc William, University of North Carolina
General Curriculum/Intervention Strategies
Mark Wolery, Allegheny-Singer Research Institute
Interventions for Cognitive Skills
Carl Dunst, Allegheny-Singer Research Institute
Interventions for Communication Skills
Howard Goldstein, University of Pittsburgh
Interventions for Social Skills and Emotional Development
Mary A. McEvoy, University of Minnesota
Paul Yoder, Vanderbilt University
In
Interventions for Motor Skills
Rebecca F. Fewell, University of Miami
Interventions for Adaptive Behavior Skills
Eva Horn, Vanderbilt University
Transitions
Mary Beth Bruder, University of Connecticut
Lynette K. Chandler, Northern Illinois University
Personnel Competence
Pat Miller, Appalachian State University
Vicki Stayton, Western Kentucky University
Program Evaluation
Scott Synder, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Prograins for Children who are Gifted
Steve Stile, New Mexico State University
iv
Establishing Recommended Practices for Programs for
Infants and Young Children with Special Needs
and Their Families
Samuel L. Odom and Mary E. McLean
Programs for infants and young children with special needs and their families have
become an accepted and valued practice in our society. By law (PL 99-457, amended by PL
102-119), preschool-aged children with disabilities (and their families) are entitled to early
intervention services, and many states have chosen to provide such services for infants and
toddlers and their families (Thiele & Hamilton, 1991). This institutionalization of early
intervention practice has been pushed by a research literature that has documented the
positive effects of such intervention practices upon children and families (Ramey & Ramey,
1992; Shonkoff & Hauser-Cram, 1987) as well as compelling popular opinion that early
intervention, as reflected through Head Start and other programs, is a good investment of
resources.
Early intervention and early childhood special education practices have evolved
systematically over the last 25 years. An active program of research and development
supported by the federal government (HCEEP and EECDP model demonstration programs),
active research literature (e.g.,
program development at the state and local levels, and an
provided
Journal of Early Intervention, Topics in Early Childhood Special Education) have
they
information upon which program developers can base their decisions about practices that
reflect the
should include in their program. In addition, movements within the field, which
practices.
values of professionals and families, have provided a basis upon which to choose
1
Perhaps because of the quantity of information available to program providers and
parents, professionals have attempted to establish "Best Practice" within the field of early
intervention and early childhood special education. Authors and task forces within states
have created a list of practices from research literature and clinical experience (De Stefano,
Howe, Horn, Smith, 1991; Hanson & Lynch, 1989; McDonnell & Hardman, 1988), and in
some cases such lists have been validated at the state level (Arizona State Department of
Education, 1987). These reviews and summaries represent important first steps in
determining practices that would be recommended to the field. A next 3tep would be to
involve experts, practitioners and families, at a national level, in the actual identification of
practices and to validate the practices with a broader group of practitioners or families.
Purpose of DEC Recommended Practice Document
The purpose of this document is to describe a set of indicators that the Division for
Early Childhood (DEC) recommends for early intervention and early childhood special
education (EI/ECSE) programs for infants and young children with special needs and their
families. The indicators may be useful in several ways. Professionals may use them to
examine the practices that they currently employ in their programs. Individuals starting early
intervention or early childhood special education programs may use these indicators as a
guide for selecting practices for their program. Also, family members may use the indicators
described in this booklet as a "consumer" guide for selecting a program for their child with
special needs.
A Note on terminology.
"Best Practice" is a label that is commonly applied to indicators such as those
2