This course examines the impact of disability on families who have young children (birth through age five) with special needs. It also explores the interdependent influence of family, culture, and community on the development and education of young children with disabilities.

Areas of study include Family Systems theory, family-centered practice, family-professional partnerships, professional collaboration and teaming, and family-community engagement. Specifically, students will explore historical and cultural perspectives on families of young children with disabilities, legal and philosophical foundations for family participation in the education of young children with disabilities, and conceptualizations of family-centered practice. Elements of effective family-professional partnerships are examined as well as social, cultural, linguistic, and economic considerations for family-professional partnerships.

Models and strategies for collaborating with families and other professionals, including paraprofessionals, particularly as they relate to family-centered practice, Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSP) and Individualized Education Plans (IEP), family-community engagement, child and family outcomes are emphasized.

This course provides students with a basic understanding of assessment of young children who have or are at risk for developmental delays or disabilities from birth through age five.

Students will become familiar with formal and informal methods and instruments for assessing young children’s social, emotional, cognitive, communication, and motor skills in a range of contexts including home, school, and community learning environments. Students will develop an understanding of the importance of family concerns, priorities, and resources in assessing young children. Students will identify methods for conducting formative and summative individual assessment as well as program evaluation.

Culturally responsive approaches to involving the family with the assessment process will be addressed.

This course will focus on typical and atypical communication and language development in children from birth through age five with or at risk for disabilities.

Topics will include early language development, origins and characteristics of atypical language development, and the relationship between communication/language delays and early learning and development across domains. Specific language disabilities and atypical language development related to disabilities such as autism and Down syndrome will also be discussed.

Students will explore methods of identifying and addressing communication and language delays through total communication including assistive technology and alternative communication systems. The role of families and importance of family-professional partnerships in enhancing language development will be emphasized.