Identification of likelihood for autism in the U.S. early intervention (EI) system facilitates referrals to diagnostic assessments and targets autism-specific needs. However, performance of autism screeners in high-likelihood preschool children and barriers to implementation need to be further studied. The current effectiveness-implementation…

The impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on families of young children with disabilities is well documented; however, there is little published research on the experiences of pediatricians and Part C Early Intervention (EI) personnel during the pandemic. This study examined the collective experiences of general pediatricians and Part C EI…

This report includes guidance, considerations, and resources for state staff and local practitioners who are determining Part C eligibility remotely. As a result of COVID-19, many states are having to determine a child's eligibility for Part C services remotely using a variety of approaches such as teleconference, videoconference, and sharing…

Both early intervention (EI) programs for infants and toddlers with disabilities and newborn screening (NBS) programs to identify specific disorders shortly after birth rest on the assumption that the best way to prevent or lessen the impact of a disorder is to provide treatment as early as possible. Despite this shared vision, the two programs…

This briefing paper explores Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) policies and practices that state early intervention (Part C) programs may consider implementing to meet the social-emotional and mental health needs of infants and toddlers in the context of relationships with their parents and other caregivers.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1 in 6 children are diagnosed with a developmental disability or with developmental delays, which are associated with impairments in physical, language, cognitive, and/or adaptive behaviors. To fill a gap in the literature, the adaptive profile of young children initially…

About 13 percent of children aged 3 through 21 enrolled in public schools received special education services in school year 2015-16, and about 3 percent of children from birth through age 2 received special education services. Concerns about the difficulties identifying and evaluating children for special education have been raised by the media,…

Early detection efforts have been shown to vary greatly in practice, and there is a general lack of systematic accountability built into monitoring early detection effort impact. This article reviews current early detection practices and the drawbacks of these practices, with particular attention given to prevalent issues of mismeasurement,…

The number of students identified under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) with an emotional disturbance (ED) has remained remarkably stable over the last 30 years. During this time, approximately 1% of the school-aged population has been identified as disabled under the criteria set forth in IDEA (Kim, Forness, & Walker,…

This concept paper was developed to address policies and practices for using developmental delay as a category of eligibility for young children. These policies and practices have evolved in response to changes in federal legislation and recommended practices in the field of early intervention and early childhood special education. The purpose of…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) of 2004 makes significant and controversial changes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Two very significant changes in this law are provisions that (a) allow school districts to spend up to 15% of their IDEA Part B funds on early intervening services in…

"Part C Updates" is a compilation of information on various aspects of the Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities (Part C) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This is the eleventh volume in a series of compilations, which included two editions of Part H Updates, the former name of the…

This practice guide includes a description of the development and use of a universal checklist for identifying infants and toddlers that may be eligible for early intervention. The checklist was specifically developed to facilitate and streamline the identification of potentially eligible children without the need to administer screening or…

In this introductory article, a response-to-instruction approach to learning disabilities (LD) identification is discussed. An overview of the promise and potential pitfalls of such an approach is provided. Benefits include identification of students based on risk rather than deficit and early identification. Questions concern the integrity of the…

This article synthesizes articles discussed as part of the research symposium at the 24th International Conference on Learning Disabilities on October 11, 2002. Topics include translating learning disability research to practice, identification of learning disabilities, special education and postmodernism, and the response to treatment model.…