Developing young children's vocabulary is essential for later reading success; thus, early childhood classrooms require a comprehensive vocabulary approach that teaches academic vocabulary. Yet even providing young children with child-friendly definitions of sophisticated words can be a challenge. First, the authors outline the components of a…

According to the recent estimate reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2018), 1 in 59 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). One of the core characteristics of ASD is a social communication deficit (American Psychiatric Association, 2017). Young children with ASD may exhibit early difficulties in…

A considerable amount of learning, especially in the early years, is incidental learning. What is incidental learning? It is learning that occurs simply through exposure to the environment--what people hear, see, and experience. It takes place in the natural course of events, without intentionally directed instruction about how or what to learn.…