Persistent challenging behaviors in early childhood can interfere and disrupt children's engagement in social and academic activities within their homes, schools, and communities (Brauner & Stephens, 2006; Division for Early Childhood [DEC], 2017). To address this concern, DEC recommends that early childhood practitioners use functional…

Self-determination is a dispositional characteristic, expressed when people act as causal agents in their lives. It develops throughout the life course, starting in early childhood. Causal Agency Theory defines three self-determined actions that lead to self-determination, which are (1) volitional action: including making conscious choices based…

With increasing rates of children with challenging behaviors in preschool environments, preschool teachers need interventions that are feasible and simple to implement. Check-In/Check-Out (CICO) is a behavioral intervention designed for students who require additional supports in classroom settings. It is a secondary tiered intervention in the…

Many teachers and parents of young children with disabilities, particularly autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are familiar with young children who engage in repetitive and restrictive behaviors such as flapping, spinning, and rocking. This type of restrictive and repetitive behavior, or stereotypy, can be common, over time it can become problematic…

The purpose of this article is to discuss how a parent coaching framework with the support of several critical components can be applied to build parent competency as a way to address children's challenging behaviors. Collaborative parent-professional partnerships are the underlying theme embedded in the three-cyclical coaching components. Shared…

Although research is somewhat limited, Rivera et al. (2019) provide some guidance for successful practices for young children who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) with significant cognitive disabilities (SCD), more specifically those who are identified as English learners. Across their literature review, common themes for…

Early elementary inclusive classrooms present teachers with demanding responsibilities. The wide range of student backgrounds, ability levels, and previous school experiences require a well-managed classroom that maximizes instructional time. Teachers reported spending more time addressing disruptive behaviors than they thought they should. One…

Reported percentages of young children who engage in challenging behavior is estimated between 10% and 20%. This percentage is even greater for children with disabilities. Not surprisingly, when young children with challenging behavior do not receive services and supports early on, they can experience negative social and emotional outcomes long…

The Behavior Expectation Discrepancy Tool (B-EDT) was designed to help early childhood teachers identify critical behavioral expectations within their classroom environments and possible problem behaviors that may impact a child's access to the environment. The tool allows them to determine if there is a behavioral problem when compared with…

Environmental modifications to the block area are important to promote children's early spatial learning experiences. It is not enough just to include block materials in the classroom. Sarama and Clements (2009) have proposed that children's free play with novel math-related activities rarely facilitates the intended educational concepts without…

Research suggests that many children with ASD are visual learners (Quill, 1997) and may struggle to comprehend expectations presented in a verbal mode only. Visually structured interventions present choices, expectations, tasks, and communication exchanges in a way that is appealing and approachable for visual learners. There are many types of…

This article explicitly addresses the correlation between communication and behavior, and describes how to provide intervention addressing these two overlapping domains using an intervention called functional communication training (FCT; E. G. Carr & Durand, 1985) in individuals with ASD. A step-by-step process is outlined with supporting…

The Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children (Hemmeter, Fox, & Snyder, 2013), or the Pyramid Model, is a conceptual framework focused on systemic and sustained implementation of evidence-based practices (EBP) related to promoting social emotional competence and preventing challenging behaviors in…

Challenging behaviors refer to those behaviors that decrease the child's ability to engage and participate in classroom routines (Dunlap, Wilson, Strain, & Lee, 2013), and therefore, the dilemma in the scenario above is common to early childhood and early childhood special education teachers due to an increase in children experiencing autism…