Finding a Common Lens

Abstract

The Early Childhood Personnel Center (ECPC) was funded by the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education to provide technical assistance to State Systems of Early Childhood Intervention and Institutions of Higher Education on issues related to personnel development. One initiative of the ECPC has been to collaborate with professional organizations to identify core cross-disciplinary competencies for all personnel serving infants and young children aged birth through 5 years with disabilities and their families. Seven national organizations representing disciplines providing services in early childhood intervention have been participating in this initiative: the American Occupational Therapy Association; the American Physical Therapy Association; the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; the Council for Exceptional Children and the Division for Early Childhood; the National Association for the Education of Young Children; and Zero to Three. Alignments of personnel standards, practice guidelines, and competencies yielded 4 areas of competence that are common across service providers serving infants and young children with disabilities and their families. These are: Collaboration and Coordination; Family-Centered Practice; Evidence-Based Practice; and Professionalism.

Professional Preparation, Growth, and Recognition in the Service Coordination Workforce

“…The 15-item survey (see Supplemental Digital Content Appendix A, available at: http://links.lww.com/IYC/A23) was designed in an online format by SC Stakeholder Group members over a series of meetings. The group utilized existing resources and references (see Supplemental Digital Content Appendix B, available at: http://links.lww.com/IYC/A24) including, but not limited to, (a) SC activities under Part C of IDEA; (b) DEC Recommended Practices (DEC, 2014); (c) common terms and definitions such as standards, indicators, and practices; (d) SC competencies from other states; (e) Common Cross-Disciplinary Early Childhood Competency Areas (Bruder et al, 2019); and (f) state laws, policies, and procedures. Then, group members engaged in brainstorming sessions to identify necessary knowledge and skills to provide high-quality SC services to children and families in EI, potential motivators, and opportunities for growth and recognition.…”

Child Communication Research and Practice: Collaborative Roles for Behavior Analysts and Speech-Language Pathologists

“…Purposeful collaboration follows: professionals continue assessment, instruction, review data, and modify procedures. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004) mandates this, elaborated by multiple professionals and scholars (e.g., Bruder et al, 2019; Lieberman-Betz et al, 2019). We fully recognize and build on these works and narrow our focus to a cross-section of the larger educational field.…”

“…Holding colleagues in high esteem and displaying flexibility for ideas outside of one's own scope of practice and competence should be evident in interpersonal communication with other professionals (e.g., body orientation, responses). Actionable activities that reflect this approach involve adopting core values that reflect each professional's unique and meaningful perspective, which is rooted in displaying respect for others, and adopting underlying principles of practice (Bruder et al, 2019(Bruder et al, , 2021. Principles include understanding that all modes of communication are important.…”

The Language We Use: Providers’ Perceptions About Families

“…Learning experiences can build upon the intersection of family-centered practices and culturally responsive actions. One such opportunity is experience-based learning, in which preservice students are provided real-world experiences to acquire critical cross-disciplinary competencies (Bruder et al, 2019) throughout their preparation program. Other examples of experience-based learning include partnering with families from the start of the preparation program, shadowing families in their daily routines, and participation in immersion-based coursework.…”