Strain provides his perspective on four issues facing science and practice in early childhood and special education. He points to the need for (a) long-term functional research, (b) greater emphasis on the use of evidence-based programs in practice, (c) moving special education research back to the Office of Special Education Programs, and (d)…

Comments on an article by Dunst and Bruder. Twenty years ago, amendments to the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 99-457, 1986) included language that required each state early intervention system to ensure that families had access to a case manager. The article by the authors and the study conducted as part of the Research and…

This commentary on inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood programs raises issues concerning why so little progress toward inclusion has been made; quality of early childhood instruction versus inclusion expectations; the need to "just do it" (inclusion); and the need to allow for the child's individual preferences. (DB)

This commentary on the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood programs raises issues concerning balancing the roles of advocate, scientist, and person with strong beliefs; interpreting the intent of research on integration issues; and a seeming overreaction to a supposed "deficit-model" of the past. (DB)

This paper takes the position that many early childhood personnel embrace inclusion at the conceptual level but ignore or discount its implications at the applied or child level. Discussion of policies and practices of inclusion as they may affect individual children and families serves as the basis for recommendations for fostering successful…

This commentary on inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood programs raises issues concerning the value-laden nature of advocacy for inclusion; the need to "just do it" (inclusion); risks of advocating for children versus programs; and the need to integrate with regular education despite its major problems. (DB)

This commentary on "The Effects of Family-Centered Service Coordination: A Social Validity Study" (Romer), discusses the challenges of implementing family-centered service coordination and variables such as caseload size, models of service coordination, and models of staff development that might have an impact on these challenges. (CR)