Peggy A. Gallagher

Perceived Inservice Training Needs for Early Intervention Personnel

This study investigated the inservice training needs of professionals working with children with disabilities and their families. One hundred fifteen personnel from public and private agencies assessed their current and future training needs in the areas of typical/atypical development, family systems/family involvement, assessment, program implementation/evaluation, administrative/team process, professional development, and technology. Preferences for the format and timing of training were also identified. Mean ratings for and comparisons between skills identified as more traditional and skills identified as more contemporary are provided. Two grouping factors, role and experience, were used to evaluate the extent to which personnel differed on perceived need for training in each competency area. Results are discussed relative to the extant personnel preparation literature and best practices in inservice training.

Parents as Professionals in Early Intervention A Parent Educator Model

One of the goals of a family-centered approach in early intervention is to equally involve family members as active partners with professionals. This article describes one states model of family involvement using parents of young children with disabilities as parent educators in the Part C system. Qualitative focus group data were collected with the parent educators over 6 time periods and revealed their changing perceptions about their roles as parent educators, as well as their perceived challenges and successes. Parent educators ultimately came to see themselves as “professionals” working to bring a family perspective to the early intervention system.

Needs of and Supports for African American and European American Caregivers of Young Children with Special Needs in Urban and Rural Settings

In this study, the authors compared the self-reported needs of and sources of supports for African American and European American caregivers of young children with disabilities living in urban and rural areas. One hundred twenty caregivers of young children in one states early intervention (EI) system responded to two instruments, the Family Needs Scale (Dunst, Cooper, Weeldreyer, Snyde, & Chase, 1987) and the Family Support Scale (Dunst, Jenkins, & Trivette, 1996). African American and European American caregivers differed significantly regarding family needs, whereas urban and rural caregivers differed significantly on the overall level of support they reported. Interactional effects were also found. EI systems must take into account such differing needs and sources of support when developing policies and services for young children with disabilities and their families.

Classroom Quality, Concentration of Children with Special Needs, and Child Outcomes in Head Start:

The associations among classroom quality, classroom percentage of children with special needs, and child outcome measures were tested in low- and high-quality classrooms using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). No main effect on child outcomes for the classroom concentration of children with special needs was observed. However, an interaction between classroom quality and the percentage of children in the classroom who had special needs was found. A high-quality classroom environment serving no children with special needs was associated with more favorable classroom mean scores on social behaviors for typically developing children. Inversely, the combination of high-quality classroom environment and more than 20% children with special needs was associated with more problem behaviors and lower scores in print concepts for typical children.

General Education Teachers' Attitudes and Perceptions of Teamwork Supporting Children with Developmental Concerns

The successful inclusion of children with developmental concerns in general education classrooms is influenced by the participation of general educators on the teams that support these children. One hundred and forty-eight general education teachers who were serving on teams that support children with developmental concerns in schools were asked to complete the Attitudes About Teamwork Survey, the Team Characteristics Survey, and the Team Process Perception Survey. Respondents held a generally positive attitude about teamwork. Challenges related to scheduling and time for teaming were noted. Central themes emerged relative to perceptions about benefits (discipline collaboration, sharing of knowledge/ideas), limitations (time constraints), and supports (collaboration and supports of individual efforts). Respondents provided recommendations for the improvement of teamwork related to management, organization, and communication. Practical implications of the results and directions for further investigation in this area are discussed.

Siblings of Infants and Toddlers With Disabilities in Early Intervention

The current study investigated the perceptions of families regarding the inclusion of siblings of children with disabilities by early intervention providers. Eighty-seven respondents who had a child enrolled in one state’s Part C early intervention program completed the survey. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed. Results indicated a significant correlation (a) between having goals for siblings on the Individualized Family Service Plan and parents’ report of whether siblings were included by the service provider in sessions, (b) between wanting goals and the respondent’s relationship to the child, and (c) between having goals and county of residence. Qualitative results verified how siblings were included in early intervention routines by early intervention providers, that goals related to siblings were not often included in the Individualized Family Service Plan, and that parents reported that siblings wanted more information about the child’s disability. In addition, families viewed explaining the disability to siblings as a critical component for helping siblings understand the child with disabilities.

Student Satisfaction with Two-Way Interactive Distance Learning for Delivery of Early Childhood Special Education Coursework

Two-way interactive television (ITV) can be a viable alternative to traditional course delivery in Early Childhood Special Education. ITV involves students and faculty at different locations in the live transmission of two way auditory and visual signals simultaneously between sites. Two preservice masters level courses in Early Childhood Special Education, Characteristics of Young Children with Disabilities and Methods of Young Children with Disabilities, were taught twice across two academic years through distance learning using ITV Results from structured telephone surveys evaluating student satisfaction with ITV are presented. Factors critical to the successful implementation of an ITV model are discussed and include establishing a collaborative learning environment, providing an experienced instructor who can promote interaction, promoting a support system for ITV within and across institutions of higher education, and assuring high quality and delivery of the technology used.

Working with Families: Rethinking Denial.

0 any years ago, Helen Keller’s mother, Katie Keller, was insistent that the family not abandon the search to find the person who might be able to unlock the mystery of her daughter (Gibson, 1962). Despite the best advice and efforts of professionals and family, Mrs. Keller refused to have her daughter put in an asylum. Would Mrs. Keller be labeled &dquo;in denial&dquo; today? Well-meaning professionals might shake their heads at the IEP meeting and express their genuine concern that this mother is just not able to accept her daughter’s pervasive disabilities. After all, it would be obvious to everyone that little t~~~~M Helen could not see or hear. ~~~~~N Wasn’t Helen Keller’s mother right to be optimistic about her daughter’s potential? Mrs. Keller was acutely aware that ~ °9 m

Special Education Teachers' Attitudes and Perceptions of Teamwork

One hundred and eighty-four special education teachers serving school-based intervention teams completed the Attitudes About Teamwork Survey, the Team Characteristics Survey , and the Team Process Perception Survey. Respondents’ regard for the team process in planning and implementing supports for children with disabilities was generally favorable. Similarly, respondents’ perceptions of the performance characteristics of the teams on which they served were generally positive. Associations among items on the Attitudes About Teamwork Survey and the Team Characteristics Survey are reported. Finally, respondents provided input regarding teamwork benefits and limitations, how teamwork supports their efforts, and recommendations for improving the effectiveness of teamwork. Practical implications of the results and directions for further investigation in this area are discussed.

The Alignment of CEC/DEC and NAEYC Personnel Preparation Standards.

This article describes the process for alignment of the personnel preparation standards developed by the Council for Exceptional Children and Division for Early Childhood with the standards developed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The results identify areas of convergence across the two sets of standards and areas that were primarily addressed through only one set of standards. Areas of nonalignment may constitute specialized knowledge and skills within the disciplines of special education, early childhood special education and early intervention, and early childhood education. This standards alignment can be used by states and university and college personnel preparation programs to develop blended programs that highly qualified early childhood professionals to meet the needs of all children in a variety of settings.