Effective Teaming to Bridge Support for Children With Challenging Behavior

Abstract

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

Using the EI/ECSE Standards to Inform Families’ Expectations and Advocacy Efforts

“…Families play important roles in all evaluation/assessment processes. Practitioners work as a team with the family to gather assessment information (DEC, 2014) as the family has the most knowledge about their child's behavior across settings and contexts (Wahman et al, 2020). By sharing this information with other team members, families provide information that is critical to their team's understanding of the child's strengths, needs, and preferences (Bruns & LaRocco, 2019).…”

“…Families are the experts on their children (Wahman et al, 2020). They often have the most knowledge about their children's strengths, support needs, and preferences.…”