The first Early Intervention Conference was in Georgia in August of 2023. The first day of the conference was a tremendous success. Attendees called their friends and colleagues encouraging them to attend the following day. There was evidence of enthusiasm and enjoyment throughout the venue from snippets of networking conversations to selfies…

Parents and guardians are the biggest influencers on enrollment for students. Nearly all are invested and involved in the college search process with their students. But are colleges and universities really engaging them? Are they communicating the right information, with the right frequency, across the right channels? Are they helping families…

The school, student and family factors underlying poor postsecondary outcomes of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not well understood. The potential impact of school [e.g., transition planning quality (TPQ)], family (e.g., parent activation), and student factors (e.g., adaptive functioning) and their interaction (e.g.,…

Although individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are living longer lives, fewer than half of parents of individuals with IDD conduct future planning. The correlates and barriers to future planning must be identified to develop targeted interventions to facilitate future planning. In this study, 388 parents of individuals…

Post-school outcomes are poor for youth with disabilities, in general, but even more discouraging for certain subpopulations of individuals with disabilities, particularly those from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds. The authors discuss structural inequalities in public schools which potentially contribute to the poorer…

The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) lists 11 recommended practices for assessment, including "Practitioners report assessment results so they are understandable and useful to families" (DEC, 2014, p. 8). This article examines high-impact practices designed to make meaningful and understandable assessment reports to facilitate…

There is a widespread misconception that transition planning and programming begin in high school. However, there are many opportunities for teachers to infuse transition-focused education into teaching and learning activities for their elementary-grade students. Teachers can engage students with disabilities and their families in…

The Preschool Educational Environment Rating System (PEERS) is a measure designed to examine the quality of instruction in preschool settings. Unlike other rating scales, it not only measures the environment, it also examines both how teachers construct their classroom for instruction and the quality of the enactment of instruction. Designed on…

Transition planning officially begins between the ages of 14 and 16 for most students with an IEP. However, the process is lifelong. Job Exploration Counseling, or Career counseling/guidance includes a wide variety of activities which help students explore career options and opportunities available. Job exploring options are intended to foster…

This Internet-based study involved experimental manipulation of family-centeredness in written early intervention evaluation reports and employed a 3 x 4-vignette factorial design with 1 participant variable (role: parent, professional, parent-professional) and 1 randomly assigned independent variable (level of family-centeredness in report…

Home visiting is a common method of providing early intervention services to families. The reason home visitors in early intervention programs begin working with a young child and his or her family is usually because the child has a developmental delay, diagnosed disability, or is at risk for developing a delay. It seems reasonable for a home…

This report uses data from the 2003 National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES) Parent and Family Involvement Survey (PFI) to examine the characteristics associated with the educational expectations parents had for their children and the postsecondary education planning practices families and schools engaged in. The results presented in…

To raise the achievement of every student, Maryland designed "Achievement Matters Most," a plan for public schools that sets goals in the areas of achievement, teaching, testing, safety, and family involvement in schools. Achievement Matters Most supports Maryland schools' efforts to meet the goals of the federal No Child Left Behind…

This keynote address states that early intervention services must consider more than professional analyses in their planning. It describes findings from focus group discussions with Latino families of children with disabilities, emphasizing the need to match early intervention services with parent expectations and goals, and the need for services…

This guide was developed to introduce families of young children with disabilities to the early intervention system. It describes early intervention services and defines the roles and responsibilities of parents and practitioners. The guide uses a question and answer format to present information on the following topics: (1) what is early…