The Developmental Systems Approach to Early Intervention

As communities struggle to address today's challenges to early intervention—including limited resources, the need for professional development, and the changing role of families—they create programs that vary dramatically in quality, approach, and organization. A more consistent, coherent, and effective early intervention system is the goal of this enlightening book, which describes a state-of-the-art, research-based developmental systems model to guide programs for children from birth to 5 years of age. You'll examine

• Three core principles of the developmental systems model. You'll learn the importance of applying a developmental framework to early intervention, integrating the services of various agencies and personnel, and maximizing inclusion in home and community life for children with disabilities.
• Practices in the United States. Leading experts help guide decision-making with both broad suggestions and specific recommendations for improving practices in key areas (see sidebar) and across diverse communities.
• Practices in other countries. Experts from other countries — including Austria, Australia, Great Britain, Greece, Israel, Italy, and Sweden — share valuable insights and relate their early intervention approaches to the developmental systems model.

You'll receive expert guidance on improving

• screening and points of access
• interdisciplinary assessment
• assessment of family characteristics and needs
• preventive intervention for children at risk
• early intervention for children with disabilities
• evaluation of program effectiveness
• transitions for children with disabilities

Designed to help administrators, policymakers, and graduate-level students effect change for many years to come, this comprehensive guide will help you create early intervention programs that are based on research but still address the needs of individual children and families.

Michael J. Guralnick, Ph.D., is Director of the Center on Human Development and Disability (CHDD) and Professor of Psychology and Pediatrics at the University of Washington. Comprised of both a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities and a Eunice Kennedy Shriver Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, the CHDD is one of the largest interdisciplinary research and training centers in the United States addressing issues directly related to developmental disabilities. More than 600 faculty, staff, and doctoral and postdoctoral students operate within the four CHDD buildings on the campus of the University of Washington and in other university and community sites to conduct basic and translational research, to provide clinical services to individuals and their families, to provide interdisciplinary clinical and research training, and to provide technical assistance and outreach training to practitioners and community agencies.

Dr. Guralnick has directed numerous research, professional training, and development projects in the fields of early childhood development and intervention, with a special interest in the design and effectiveness of early intervention programs, peer-related social competence, and early childhood inclusion. He has published more than 150 articles and book chapters (including eight edited volumes), and his publications have appeared in a diverse group of well-respected journals spanning a range of disciplines. Major research has included a randomized clinical trial to determine the effectiveness of a comprehensive early intervention program in promoting the peer-related social competence of young children with developmental delays and a multi-context investigation of the factors influencing the peer interactions and peer social networks of children with Down syndrome. Current projects focus on the peer relationships of children with autism, the further development and application of the Developmental Systems Approach to early intervention, and international activities designed to integrate research and practice in the field of early intervention.

Dr. Guralnick received the 1994 Research Award from the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, the 1997 Distinguished Research Award from the Arc of the United States, and the Edgar A. Doll Award in 2008 from Division 33 of the American Psychological Association for outstanding scientific contributions to the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities. He is a past President of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities, the Council for Exceptional Children's Division for Early Childhood, and the Academy on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and a former Chair of the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center Directors. He served as editor of the journal Infants and Young Children from 2003 to 2009 and is the founder and Chair of the International Society on Early Intervention.

Dr. Gilliam is an Associate Professor of Child Psychiatry and Psychology at Yale University. He is also the Director of Yale's Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy. His research involves policies regarding early childhood education and child care, ways to improve the quality of early childhood services, the impact of early childhood education programs on children's school readiness, and effective methods for reducing classroom behavior problems and the incidence of preschool expulsion.

Robin McWilliam is the originator of the Routines-Based Model, implemented in 10 countries and many states in the U.S. He is a professor of special education at The University of Alabama, where he founded and directs the Evidence-based International Early Intervention Office (EIEIO). He is also the founder and leader of the RAM Group, an international community of practice fostering the Routines-Based Model. He has formerly been a professor of pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, a senior scientist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, and a professor of education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. McWilliam's research centers on infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with and without disabilities, with a specific focus on child engagement, service delivery models, and collaboration with families. He has provided consultation, training, and technical assistance across the United States and in some countries overseas on providing early intervention in natural environments and on the Engagement Classroom Model. His Routines-Based Interview (RBI) is a widely used method of assessing families' needs and developing individualized family service plan (IFSP) outcomes and individualized education program (IEP) goals.

Samuel Meisels, Ed.D., is a leading authority on early childhood development and assessment. Before joining the Buffett Early Childhood Institute he was president of Erikson Institute for 12 years and remains president emeritus. In addition, he had a 21-year research career at the University of Michigan, where he is an emeritus professor and research scientist. Earlier he was on the faculty at Tufts University and director of the Eliot-Pearson Children's School. He has authored more than 200 publications and assessment instruments and holds Master's and doctoral degrees from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and an honorary doctor of humane letters from Roosevelt University.

Dr. Wolraich is Chief of the Section of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. He received his M.D. from the State University of New York Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse. Dr. Wolraich completed a p ediatric residency between Upstate Medical Center and the University Oklahoma Health Sciences and completed a fellowship in developmental pediatrics at the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center. Dr. Wolraich has spent more than 30 years in research and clinical service related to attentiondeficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and is a 2003 inductee in the Children and Adults with ADHD (CHADD) Hall of Fame. He has also been a major contributor to the development of guidelines for ADHD for primary care physicians by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Wolraich has been an author or coauthor on more than 150 journal articles and book chapters, including articles in the New England Journal of Medicine, Pediatrics, and the Journal of the American Medical Association and chapters in 20 books. His research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, Maternal and Child Health Research Program; National Institute on Disabilities and Rehabilitation Research; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation. Currently, he is investigating the prevalence and long-term outcomes of ADHD in five school districts.