In the United States, early intervention (EI) programs under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act serve thousands of infants and toddlers with or at risk for developmental delays. Despite this, few studies have investigated the developmental progress and outcomes of children served, especially in relation to the heterogeneity…

Research Findings: The present study investigates both the proximal processes and contextual influences on children's oral language development in preschool. We examine whether teacher language practices vary across activity settings and program type, which teacher language practices predict children's oral language skills, and potential…

Purpose: One challenge to the design and delivery of effective vocabulary intervention is the selection of vocabulary targets. The purpose of this study was to examine the relation of word characteristics to vocabulary learning from explicit vocabulary intervention. Method: This study was a secondary analysis of data from two recent efficacy…

A child's social and emotional development has a powerful impact on every aspect of their life. When a child develops a strong social and emotional foundation, they learn how to express their feelings, empathize with others, and build relationships. All of these skills could influence a child's academic achievement and successful adult life.…

Research on how COVID-19 school closures impacted the learning of young children is still sparse, and the broader implications of these findings have yet to be fully explored. In this study, we examine the impacts of COVID-19 school closures on language and literacy development in a state-funded pre-K program in a Florida school district. Using…

Universal screening of social-emotional deficits in preschool children is a promising avenue for detecting children in need of early intervention. Due to the enormity of this task, it is vital that the instruments used in universal screening be brief, inexpensive, and capable of accurately measuring social-emotional development. The Ages and…

This study examined selected parameters of two newly developed measures called AEPS-3 Ready-Set and Ready-Set Family Assessment of Children's Skills (FACS). Ready-Set is a school readiness measure designed to gather information from teachers or other professionals on children's kindergarten school readiness skills across important developmental…

Teachers can play important roles in supporting children's development through play, but require training to better understand this role. Practice-based coaching shows promise in its ability to train teachers in use of evidence-based practice, but has not been used for play support practices. The present study sought to explore using…

Three parents of preschool-aged children with Down syndrome using mobile augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technologies to communicate participated indirect, systematic communication-partner instruction. Intervention featured an adaptation of the ImPAACT Program (Improving Partner Applications of Augmentative Communication…

Researchers attempting to show that music has positive effects on children need to understand and control for preexisting differences between those who do and do not select into musical participation in the first place. Within a large-scale, communitywide, prospective, longitudinal study of predominantly low-income, ethnically diverse students (N…

While the COVID-19 vaccines bring hope about the end of pandemic-related closures, leaders worldwide recognize that a fundamental shift has occurred in the way we work, live, and learn. Though we will always need brick-and-mortar schools, our "new normal" must include hybrid and virtual education options for students who do not have…

This paper shares reflections on over 50 live Zoom instructional lessons with toddlers and preschoolers amid the first three weeks of school closures due to COVID-19 in the State of Florida. Reflections resulted in three themes: 1) implementing digital sessions with young children; 2) establishing and maintaining home-based child engagement…

Purpose: Many children begin school with limited vocabularies, placing them at a high risk of academic difficulties. The goal of this study was to examine the effects of a vocabulary intervention program, "Story Friends," designed to improve vocabulary knowledge of at-risk preschool children. Method: Twenty-four early-childhood…

The current study investigated the stability of children's risk status across the preschool year. A total of 1,102 preschool children attending Title 1 schools (n = 631) and non-Title 1 schools (n = 471) participated in this study. Using averaged standard scores for two measures of language, print knowledge, and phonological awareness administered…

Purpose: Many children begin school with limited vocabularies, placing them at a high risk of academic difficulties. The goal of this study was to examine the effects of a vocabulary intervention program, Story Friends, designed to improve vocabulary knowledge of at-risk preschool children. Method: Twenty-four early-childhood classrooms were…