Articles
Recent Articles
Three Ways ECSE Leaders Can Improve Data Quality
In the tech world, the phrase “garbage in, garbage out,” is the idea that the quality of output is always determined by the quality of input (Market Business News, 2023). If data is entered incorrectly into a system, the output is unreliable. An example of “garbage” input would be an early childhood special education (ECSE) teacher entering… Read More Three Ways ECSE Leaders Can Improve Data Quality
Small Tweaks to Move Inclusive Mountains in Preschool
Regardless of your position in the decision making hierarchy or efforts to improve inclusion to-date, building the momentum necessary for change can begin with you. Collectively, from the top-down and bottom-up, small tweaks create the enabling context to move Virginia’s preschool inclusion needle in the right direction. The Inclusion Opportunity Jump to: The Placed vs… Read More Small Tweaks to Move Inclusive Mountains in Preschool
Does Your Early Childhood Program Have the Foundation to Implement Inclusive Practices?
As Virginia continues to build a unified early childhood system, additional opportunities exist for children with disabilities to attend regular early childhood classrooms. When building inclusive classrooms, Early Childhood (EC) and Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) practitioners must combine efforts to provide access, participation, and support to all children. In this context, “support” refers to the system-level… Read More Does Your Early Childhood Program Have the Foundation to Implement Inclusive Practices?
Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center
At the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center, the Office of Head Start provides a Series of Simulations for effectively engaging families from the start. The series explores the practice of everyday strategies to develop Positive Goal-Oriented Relationships with a family. These relationships are key to our work with children and families, including the journey… Read More Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center
Five Questions to Develop Meaningful IEPs in ECSE
Developing meaningful and high quality IEPs for young children with disabilities requires teams collect data from multiple sources as authentically as possible (using familiar environments, people, and materials). In summarizing this data and developing annual goals, teams should consider how each area of need or skill deficit identified impacts the child’s progress in the general… Read More Five Questions to Develop Meaningful IEPs in ECSE
Online Learning
Online Learning Opportunities
ASD Toddler Initiative: Learning Modules
These free learning modules expand content, video examples, and resources on 10 evidence-based practice modules, previously developed for use with preschool through high school-aged students with ASD, but shown to be efficacious for infants and toddlers and their families. Available modules: Prompting, Naturalistic Intervention, Pivotal Response Treatment, Functional Behavior Assessment, Reinforcement, and Video Modeling
Connect Modules
These free practice-based modules are designed to build early childhood practitioners’ abilities to make evidence-based decisions. They emphasize a decision-making process, realistic problems to solve, the importance of integrating multiple perspectives and sources of evidence, the relevance and quality of content, and feedback. Available modules: Embedded Interventions, Transition, Communication for Collaboration, Family-Professional Partnerships, Assistive Technology Interventions, Dialogic Reading Practices, and Tiered Instruction
DEC Recommended Practice Modules
Each of the seven free interactive modules focus on a specific recommended practices topic area. The site also houses a growing resource library library of audio clips, handouts, and activities related to the DEC recommended practices. Available modules: Interaction, Transition, Environment, Teaming and Collaboration, Family, Instruction, and Assessment
Early Childhood Investigations
These free and engaging webinars (live and archived) are presented by many of the thought-leaders and experts in the field of early care and education. The webinars explore critical topics that offer new ideas and insights to early childhood professionals, especially administrators. Recent webinars: Kind, Empathetic Classrooms that Build Bridges & Create Community in a Diverse World, Inclusive ECE Classrooms and The Project Approach, and Autonomy Support: A New Approach to Managing Challenging Behavior
VCU Autism Center for Excellence
This site offers a training, resources, and tools for educators and family members to support children with autism spectrum disorder.
Virginia Early Intervention Professional Development Center
This site provides a range of professional learning resources including webinars, resources organized by topics, and self-paced learning paths. Topics addressed include: Tele-practice, Coaching Families, and Service Delivery
Resources
Relevant Resources
This Document highlights how to use a rapid coaching method to support families to teach foundational interaction skills
A guide to help families, educators, and others get started with using core vocabulary communication with students.
This tool is designed to help you determine which of the common Universal Core vocabulary formats might be a good fit for the student(s) you support.
This video explains the importance of modeling communication using the child’s communication system (AAC).
Sign up for an account to access free learning modules. AIM provides professional development for anyone who supports, instructs, works with, or lives with someone with autism.
