This user-friendly book presents research-based best practices for serving families of children with special needs from birth to age 6. Expert contributors demonstrate how early intervention and early childhood special education can effectively address a wide range of family concerns, which in turn optimizes children's development and learning. Tightly edited, the volume offers indispensable tools for assessing families; identifying and capitalizing on their strengths; providing information, support, and coaching; collaborating with parents and teachers to address children's functional needs in the context of everyday routines; and coordinating care. Over a dozen reproducible checklists and forms help professionals immediately implement the techniques and strategies described.

Early childhood is considered a critical but often vulnerable period in a child’s development where early identification and intervention can be crucial for improving children’s developmental outcomes. Systems and family-centred perspectives are vital to support families and build their capacities to lead normalized lives with improved family quality of life. This book explores the family-centred practices and systems factors which influence families’ experiences raising children with complex needs. It also considers the ways in which professionals can work with families to build and support parent and child competence. Conceptual and practical work from Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States present descriptions of and implications for different family system frameworks and early-childhood programs. Contributors in this edited volume bring together contemporary information that bridges the research to practice gap in supporting families of young children with disabilities or delays. Chapters include: Early Intervention for Young Children with Developmental Delays: Contributions of the Developmental Systems Approach Family Composition and Family Needs in Australia: What Makes a Family? Working with Families in Early Childhood Intervention: Family-Centred Practices in an Individualised Funding Landscape Family Systems and Family-Centred Intervention Practices in Portugal and Spain: Iberian Reflections on Early Childhood Intervention This book will attract the attention scholars of Parenting and Families; Child Development and Childcare.

The early interventionist's search for a guidebook to family-centered services is rewarded with this sensitive and down-to-earth resource from Paula Beckman. The practice-oriented volume shows professionals how to improve their ability to support both children and families.

For preservice students taking special education courses as well as inservice educators seeking professional development. An engaging discussion of the legal, ethical, practical, and cultural considerations of working with families of special needs children. With a strong focus on the families of special needs children, this first edition text provides students with both the information to understand the challenges and needs of these families as well as the skills and strategies required of educators working with such families. Containing a thorough discussion of the common legal and ethical concerns surrounding children with special needs and their families, this book also emphasizes the many individual differences among families. With that in mind, the authors focus on diversity in families with special needs children, cultural considerations, age, and communication with special needs families. In addition, a distinctive final chapter called "A Family's Voice," gives students the special opportunity to hear about the unique thoughts and experiences of a large selection of family members of children with special needs.

Parenting a child with special needs require high levels of knowledge, patience, awareness, access to resources, information and services. Proper information, diagnoses, therapies and interventions ensure parents will be focusing on the right methods and activities for their child. “Raising Your Child with Special Needs: Guidance and Practices” provides quick facts on the many types of special needs in a clear and simplistic manner. This book covers everything from the descriptions of the types of special needs, illustrations of each type of special needs with infographics, and practical advice to parents and educators on how to help a child with special needs. This book also introduces Ecotherapy, a type of therapy using nature as a form of healing. The Ecotherapy activities discussed in this book can be done continuously, cost-effectively, and in any nature setting. This book is written in an easy to understand and informative form. An absolute must-have reference for any parent with a child with special needs and those seeking a user-friendly book on special education to use as a resource.

Teachers will find practical guidelines for collaborating with families, applying early childhood intervention, using transition services, involving community agencies and businesses, and identifying post-high school options.

This title is only available as a loose-leaf version with Pearson eText, or an electronic book. Once again, the author team of Vikki F. Howard, Betty Fry Williams, Denielle Miller, and Estee Aiken have written a comprehensive introduction to early childhood special education and early intervention resource for professionals preparing to work with infants, toddlers and preschool children with disabilities and their families. Very Young Children with Special Needs: A Foundation for Educators, Families, and Service Providers, Loose Leaf Version, 5/e remains a foundational text that is practical, offering readers a thorough review of early intervention and early childhood special education, and the most detailed information available about the causes of disabling conditions in young children. Readers will be provided with "best practices" for supporting diverse families, five philosophical issues important to effective intervention and support to young children and their families, and unique coverage of typical child development across physical, emotional, language and cognitive domains.