Focus on Change

Edited by Michael J. Guralnick, Ph.D.

Now, from leading experts in the field, comes this important book that comprehensively evaluates early childhood inclusion over the past 25 years. Based on their research and extensive experience, the authors examine benefits and drawbacks of inclusion, leading influences on inclusion, and issues that face children in different environments with different developmental challenges.

This timely information shows professionals, instructors, and students in early intervention and early childhood education where inclusion is today and what they need to do to keep the field moving forward. The final chapter presents a national in-scope agenda for change — a framework of ideas for meeting challenges and achieving an agreed-upon set of principles and practices — in order to create optimal educational environments for all children.

About the Editor
Contributors
Preface

1. Introduction and Overview
   
   
   1. A Framework for Change in Early Childhood Inclusion
      Michael J. Guralnick
      
      
2. Overarching Influences
   
   
   2. Educational Reform and Early Childhood Inclusion
      Dorothy Kerzner Lipsky and Alan Gartner
      
      
   3. Public Policy in Early Childhood Inclusion: Necessary But Not Sufficient
      Barbara J. Smith and Mary Jane K. Rapport
      
      
   4. Legal Considerations of Inclusion for Infants and Toddlers and for Preschool-Age Children
      Matthew J. Stowe and H. Rutherford Turnbull III
      
      
   5. Attitudes and Beliefs of Parents of Typically Developing Children: Effects on Early Childhood Inclusion
      Zolinda Stoneman
      
      
   6. "I Wish It Wouldn't All Depend Upon Me": Research on Families and Early Childhood Inclusion
      Elizabeth J. Erwin, Leslie C. Soodak, Pamela J. Winton, and Ann Turnbull
      
      
   7. The Origins of Young Children's Attitudes Toward Peers with Disabilities
      Karen E. Diamond and Fiona K. Innes
      
      
   8. Innovations in Professional Development: Creating Communities of Practice to Support Inclusion
      Virginia Buysse, Patricia W. Wesley, and Harriet Able-Boone
      
      
3. Programs
   
   
   9. Infants and Toddlers: Outcomes and Ecology
      Mary Beth Bruder
      
      
   10. Child Care for Infants and Toddlers: A Natural Environment for All Children
       Marion O'Brien
       
       
   11. Inclusive Preschool Programs: Classroom Ecology and Child Outcomes
       Samuel L. Odom and Donald B. Bailey, Jr.
       
       
   12. Head Start and the Inclusion of Children with Disabilities
       Barbara Schwartz and Marie Brand
       
       
   13. Transition to Inclusive Environments for Young Children with Disabilities: Toward a Seamless System of Service Delivery
       Diane M. Sainato and Rebecca S. Morrison
       
       
   14. Participation of Young Children with Disabilities in Community Learning Activities
       Carl J. Dunst
       
       
4. Special Populations and Topics
   
   
   15. Inclusion of Children with Autism in Early Intervention Settings: An Examination of Rationale, Myths, and Procedures
       Phillip Strain, Gail McGee, and Frank W. Kohler
       
       
   16. Educating Deaf and Hearing Children Together: Confronting the Challenges of Inclusion
       Shirin D. Antia and Linda M. Levine
       
       
   17. Inclusion of Young Children with Complex Health Care Needs
       Allen C. Crocker and Stephanie M. Porter
       
       
   18. The Impact of Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in Inclusive Preschool Settings
       Marci J. Hanson and Craig Zercher
       
       
   19. Inclusive Practices for Preschool Children with Specific Language Impairment
       Diane Paul-Brown and Carol J. Caperton
       
       
   20. Assistive Technology and Augmentative Communication in Inclusive Early Childhood Programs
       MaryAnn Romski, Rose A. Sevcik, and Susan C. Forrest
       
       
   21. Social Competence with Peers and Early Childhood Inclusion: Need for Alternative Approaches
       Michael J. Guralnick
       
       
   22. Instructional Perspectives in Inclusive Preschool Classrooms
       Robin A. McWilliam, Mark Wolery, and Samuel L. Odom
       
       
5. Conclusion
   
   
   23. An Agenda for Change in Early Childhood Inclusion
       Michael J. Guralnick