Experiencing broad play and interaction opportunities is known to support children's learning and development and engagement with museum collections has the potential to stimulate enriching learning opportunities for even the youngest enquiring minds. Here, we describe the development of Toddler Time; a museum-based early years program developed…

Socializing and interaction are important aspects for families who visit museums. Mixed reality (MR) uses a set of technologies that museums employ to encourage this behavior, but they face challenges in maintaining family cohesion with experiences across different exhibitions and kiosks. In this paper, we explore these challenges broadly to…

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of WhatsApp-delivered physical activities on the physical activity level of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Method: This study used the mixed-method sequential exploratory design that consisted of the quantitative stage and the qualitative stage. The 42 family (parent and…

Children with disabilities, such as those with sensory processing differences or motor impairments, often have limited opportunities for community participation. Moreover, the degree to which caregivers perceive community spaces to be accessible and appropriate for their children can be a determining influence. This study evaluated caregiver…

The present study examines the effects of a family support program on children's socio-emotional and language development. We analyze how participating in courses that aim to improve the relationship between parents and their children is associated with child development. Two different course formats (parenting skills-focused and parent-child…

Family-professional partnerships are a key support for families of children with disabilities, but little is known about families of children with deaf-blindness. This study examined (a) the factor structures of the Beach Center on Disability Family-Professional Partnership and Family Quality of Life (FQOL) Scales utilizing a national sample of…

Background: Caregivers of adolescents diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder and/or Conduct Disorder (ODD/CD) experience unique challenges when interacting with child service systems involved in their adolescents' care. Absent from the literature are interventions to improve these interactions, which in the long term may improve adolescent…

Research shows early childhood is critical for establishing a foundation for overall development and future success (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child [NSCDC], 2012). Empirically supported early childhood services (ECS) are the most effective, efficient means of promoting lifelong success (Heckman, 2006). However, policies and…

Child welfare professionals (CWPs) who attended the Healthy Relationship and Marriage Education Training delivered by Extension educators in Georgia participated in focus groups 6 months post-training to investigate what elements of the training influenced their implementation of the concepts and their recommendations for future trainings. The…

The subject of engaging mothers in appropriate family support continues to be debated and this paper explores the complex factors that influenced one mother's willingness to accept support. In addition, it captures how her family support worker built and sustained a "help-providing" and "help-receiving" relationship despite the…

Support for families of children with autism spectrum disorders continues to be important, but formal support groups may not ft every need. The authors describe Family Fun Days, a program that paired leisure activities with opportunities for support. There was an increase in the number of participants over traditional support meetings,…

The study evaluates a social-communication-based approach to autism intervention aimed at improving the social interaction skills of children with autism spectrum disorder. We report preliminary results from an ongoing randomized controlled trial of 51 children aged 2 years 0 months to 4 years 11 months. Participants were assigned to either a…

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an empirically-supported behavioral parent training program designed to be administered in a clinic or laboratory-based setting. Recently, an empirical investigation revealed that in-home PCIT produced comparable results as the PCIT trials conducted in more controlled environments (this issue).…

This study attempted to validate the effectiveness of the Intervener Service Model, which provides the services of a paraprofessional (called an intervener) to families of young children who are deaf-blind. The intervener provides auditory, visual, and tactile stimulation and helps the child develop interaction behaviors. Quantitative and…

The authors, directors of the Chicago-based Pritzker Early Childhood Foundation, advocate "replication," the adaptation of a successful model program or practice to new locations or to new populations. Studies have shown that successful replications of early childhood programs that help at-risk children and their families can have long-term,…