Social stories are a commonly used intervention practice in early childhood special education. Recent systematic reviews have documented the evidence base for social stories, but findings are mixed. We examined the efficacy of social stories for young children (i.e., 3–5 years) with challenging behavior across 12 single-case studies, which included 30 participants. The What Works Clearinghouse standards for single-case research design were used to evaluate the rigor of studies that included social stories as a primary intervention. For studies meeting standards, we synthesized findings on the efficacy of social stories using meta-analysis techniques and a parametric effect size measure, the log response ratio. Trends in participants’ response to treatment were also explored. Results indicate variability in rigor and efficacy for the use of social stories as an isolated intervention and in combination with other intervention approaches. Additional studies that investigate the efficacy of social stories as a primary intervention are warranted.
Problem
COVID‐19 has profoundly impacted children's behavioral and psychosocial development, especially young children from low‐income families. This study examined how caregivers' and preschoolers' lifestyle behaviors (sleep, screen time, physical activity, eating behavior) were related to preschoolers' emotional well‐being (sadness, fear, anger, and positive affect).
Methods
Using a cross‐sectional design, we recruited low‐income caregivers from Head Start organizations and the Qualtrics panel. Participants provided consent and completed an online survey.
Findings
A total of 408 caregivers (mean age = 31) participated: 17% Hispanic, 21% Black, 49% separated/single, 44% unemployed, and 39% with ≤high school education. After adjusting for demographics and preschoolers' lifestyle behaviors, caregivers' sleep disturbance was positively correlated with preschoolers' anger, fear, and sadness, while negatively related to positive affect. Similarly, caregivers' sleep time was positively correlated with preschoolers' sadness and negatively related to positive affect. Preschoolers' sleep time was negatively related to fear and positively related to positive affect. Likewise, preschoolers' physical activity was negatively correlated with fear, sadness, and positively correlated with positive affect. Additionally, preschoolers' fruit/vegetable intake was negatively associated with anger, fear, sadness, and positively associated with positive affect.
Conclusions
The identified behavior‐emotion connection provides a foundation for developing family‐based lifestyle interventions in promoting mental health among preschoolers.
Raising a young child with challenging behavior can have a significant impact on families’ well-being and family functioning. Despite advancements in the field, there is a paucity of research focused on effective ways to address their unique experiences. This qualitative meta-synthesis aims to identify the needs of families with young children who exhibit challenging behavior to inform more robust and responsive family-centered practices. Using a constant comparative approach, we used axial coding to examine six studies involving 49 families and a critical appraisal approach to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, based on recommendations articulated by the Cochrane Collaboration. We determined that six major themes were most salient: (a) the family system, (b) families’ self-concept, (c) families’ capacity, (d) families’ social and emotional needs, (e) families’ experiences with professionals, and (f) families’ initial concerns. Our findings indicate that studies were conducted with acceptable rigor and all studies established credibility and trustworthiness of their results. The importance of family-centered practices, parenting interventions, and addressing the mental health needs of families are discussed.
K imberly, an early childhood educator (ECE), and Michelle, an early childhood special educator (ECSE) work as co-teachers for a public preschool program. Their blended classroom includes 15 children some of whom are enrolled in the district's optional prekindergarten program, others are children who are eligible for preschool because they are at risk for developmental delays and disabilities, and others are eligible for and receiving early childhood special education services. In addition to Michelle and Kimberly, the classroom staff includes a paraprofessional, William, and a speech therapist, Jasmine, who provides services to several of the children and consultative services to the teachers. Recently, Michelle and Kimberly have become concerned about one of the children in their class, Joey. Joey has been attending classes for several months and is one of the children who is receiving early childhood special education services due to global developmental delays with particular concerns in the area of language/communication. Kimberly and Michelle have requested assistance from Aaron, the school's behavior specialist, because they feel he has an important role to play. Kimberly and Michelle schedule an initial observation and team meeting
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