Recommended Practices for Early

Childhood Intervention
Tricia Catalino, PT, DSc, PCS
Touro University Nevada
[email protected]
 Disclosure
Tricia Catalino is a member of the DEC Recommended
Practices Commission and the DEC Executive Board. No
relevant financial relationship exists.
 Session Learning Objectives
At the end of this session participants will:
1. Describe how the DEC Recommended Practices
were developed.
2. Identify practices to support families of children
with or at risk for developmental delays or
disabilities.
3. Discuss how to implement the DEC
Recommended Practices in the EI and ECSE
settings.
 Session Outline
• Brief overview of DEC & the DEC
Recommended Practices
• Framework, parameters, and key working
definitions
• Where to find the DEC Recommended
Practices
• Practices & Examples
 Framework, Parameters, and Key
Working Definitions
• Population: Children- birth through
kindergarten who have or are at risk for
developmental delays and disabilities but
not limited to IDEA service eligibility
• Practices represent highest impact
practices
• Practices represent breadth of topic
 Framework, Parameters, and Key
Working Definitions
• Practices are observable, written in
active voice, and not disability specific
• Practices can be delivered in all settings
• Practices build on, without duplicating,
standards for typical early childhood
settings
 Topic Areas

 Leadership Instruction
 Assessment Interaction
 Environment Teaming and
Collaboration
 Family
Transition
Where to Find the RP’s

http://www.dec-sped.org/dec-
recommended-practices
PRACTICES
AND
EXAMPLES
 Definition
RPs define Leaders* as:
“those in positions of leadership or
authority in providing services to all young
children who have or are at risk for
developmental delays/disabilities and their
families”
 Address Both Leadership & Management
• Leadership – shared vision, adapting,
setting direction
• Management – day-to-day
operations, planning, procedures,
budgets, supervising
 Leadership Practices
Issues internal to the operation of the program
– Culture and climate of the program
– Support for shared decision making
– Evidenced-based approaches to professional
development
Message: Leaders create the conditions so that
practitioners can implement the RPs in other
topic areas
 Leadership Practices: External

• Collaborate • Advocate
– Across agencies for – Improved policies, more
inclusion, coordinated resources
service delivery, • Be an active
developmental
screening
professional:
– Stay current
– Development of
professional – Model the principles in
competencies (Higher Code of Ethics, RPs, etc.
Ed, state agencies)
 Leadership Practice 13:
L13. Leaders promote efficient and
coordinated service delivery for
children and families by creating the
conditions for practitioners from
multiple disciplines and the family to
work together as a team.
Example: A director of an
early intervention
program arranges
schedules so that all staff
working directly with
families are in the office
on certain afternoons to
ensure time and a
structure for
collaboration.
A s
s s
s m
e e
 Assessment
• The Assessment recommended practices
promote the use of assessment to
maximize learning opportunities and
provide appropriate support and resources
to the child and family.
• Assessment is a process for gathering
information to make decisions about the
teaching and learning of young children.
 Assessment
• Determine eligibility
• Planning optimal learning activities
• Enhance social-emotional
competence
• Provide needed supports to the
family
• Measure progress over time
 Authentic, naturalistic assessment

• Involve families and other caregivers

• Use procedures that are motivating
for the child and looks at skills in in
their everyday environments
• Use valid, reliable and culturally
competent tools
A1. Practitioners work
with the family to
identify family
preferences for
assessment processes.

Assessment Practice 1
 Example: A team of
practitioners and the
family jointly plan the
specifics of the
upcoming assessment
including the location,
time of day, and
strategies for
assessment.

Assessment Practice 1
 Environment
The Environment recommended practices
promote the access and participation of
young children with or at risk for
developmental delays or disabilities in
everyday learning experiences and
naturally occurring routines.
• Build upon Developmentally Appropriate
Environment Practices (DAPs)
• Refer to settings (natural & inclusive) and
features (physical, social, temporal)
• Inseparably linked to development,
growth, & functioning
 Spirit of the Environment RP’s
1.Environment RP’s interwoven in all RP
areas
2.Environments are fundamental sources
of access and participation
3.Changes to the environment are done in
collaboration and are strengths-based
 Environment Practice 4:
E4. Practitioners work with families
and other adults to identify each
child’s needs for assistive technology
to promote access to and participation
in learning experiences.
Environment
Practice 4

Example: A speech language pathologist works with family

members to incorporate the use of a child’s voice output
device across the family’s daily routines (e.g., shows the
family how to use the device during the morning routine
so the child can communicate what she wants to eat for
breakfast).
Family
 Family
• The Family recommended practices guide
practitioners interactions with family members so that
practitioners can support the family’s confidence and
competence in helping their child learn and grow.
Principle 1:
Parents are the constant in the lives of
young children with disabilities or
developmental delays and so practitioners
should provide families with the
information they need and recognize the
information they already have.
Principle 2:
In every interaction with a family, it is the
role of the practitioner to promote
confidence and affirm the competency of
the parents to support their child’s
development and learning so they will
continue to provide their children with
what they need.
Principle 3:
Practitioners need to respect the
unique characteristics of each family
including ethnicity, culture, family
structure and family goals and work in
collaboration with the family to
achieve these goals.
 Family Practice 3

F3. Practitioners are responsive to the

family’s concerns, priorities, and
changing life circumstances.
 Family Practice 3

Example: A service
coordinator assists the family
in identifying and connecting
to both formal and informal
supports and resources such
as babysitting or respite care
with family, friends, and
neighbors.
Instruction
 Instruction
The purpose of Instruction recommended
practices is to help children acquire the
skills and behaviors that will help them be
more independent and successful as young
children and throughout their lives.
“Tools of our trade"
Characteristics common to all Instruction RPs:
• Goals and objectives across disciplines
• Target behaviors prioritized by family
• Align with family beliefs and values
• Intentional & Individualized
• Build on strengths, preferences, and interests
• Data-based decision making
 Instruction Practice 4

INS4. Practitioners plan for and

provide the level of support,
accommodations, and adaptations
needed for the child to access,
participate, and learn within and
across activities and routines.
 Instruction Practice 4
An early
intervention provider
and a child’s parents
monitor their own
behavior to ensure
that they are providing
the appropriate level
of support for the child
to be able to do a skill
and fading prompts
when appropriate.
 Interaction
“Being emotionally and physically available and
observing, interpreting, and responding are at
the heart of each of these five practices.”

Predictable emotional, social, language, and

cognitive responses embedded throughout a
child’s day promote growth in all areas of
development.
 Responsive Interaction
• The adult reacts sensitively and contingently
to the child’s behaviors at a level appropriate
to the child’s developmental level
• Practitioners support children’s development
through responsive interactions
• Practitioners support the parent-child
relationship
– provide opportunities for caregivers to learn new
ways of interacting with children
– INT2. Practitioners
promote the child’s
social development by
encouraging the child
to initiate or sustain
positive interactions
with other children and
adults during routines
and activities through
modeling, teaching,
feedback, or other
types of guided
support.
 Interaction Practice 2
Train Blocks

Example: An early interventionist working in the home

encourages and reinforces a child for initiations and
engagement with materials by providing choices;
making suggestions; giving the child time to make
choices; and providing positive, descriptive feedback.
 Teaming & Collaboration
Issues in identifying practices:
–Lack of agreement and clarity on key
terms
–Research on topic is in its early stages;
however there is considerable support
for the concepts
“Teaming and collaboration practices
are those that promote and sustain
collaborative adult partnerships,
relationships, and ongoing
interactions.”
 Practice Themes

• team composition (e.g., cross-section

membership, skilled convener)
• communication and group facilitation
(e.g., mutual respect, flexibility)
• team purpose (e.g., shared vision,
concrete goals)
– TC1. Practitioners representing multiple
disciplines and families work together as a
team to plan and implement supports and
services to meet the unique needs of each
child and family.
Example: A physical therapist, service
coordinator, and developmental therapist
meet to talk with the family about the
child’s current abilities, progress, and other
concerns.
Transition
 Transition

“Events, activities, and processes

associated with key changes between
environments or programs during the early
childhood years and practices that support
the adjustment of the child and family to
the new setting.”
 Themes

• exchange of information occurs between

practitioners in sending and receiving
program before, during and after
transitions
• strategies are used to support child and
family adjustment to new environments
• positive relationships are central
 Transition Practice 2

TR2. Practitioners use a variety of planned

and timely strategies with the child and
family before, during, and after the
transition to support successful adjustment
and positive outcomes for both the child
and family.
Example: A service coordinator provides
families with lists of preschools and visiting
schedules. S/he offers to accompany
families on their visits to the preschools.
 References
1. Division for Early Childhood. (2015). DEC recommended practices: Enhancing services for
young children with disabilities and their families. Available at http://bookstore.dec-
sped.org/product-p/decrp.htm
2. Division for Early Childhood. (2014). DEC recommended practices in early intervention/early
childhood special education 2014. Retrieved from http://www.dec-
sped.org/recommendedpractices
3. Division for Early Childhood. (2010). Position statement: Responsiveness to all children,
families, and professionals: Integrating cultural and linguistic diversity into policy and
practice. Missoula, MT: Author. Retrieved from
http://dec.membershipsoftware.org/files/Position%20Statement%20and%20Papers/Position
%20Statement_Cultural%20and%20Linguistic%20Diversity.pdf
4. DEC/NAYEC. (2009). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of
North Carolina, FPG Child Development Institute. Retrieved from
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf
5. Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center. (2014). Outcomes measurement: Outcomes
FAQ. Retrieved from http://ectacenter.org/eco/pages/faqs.asp
6. Kolobe, T. H., Arevalo, A., & Catalino, T. A. (2012). The environment of intervention. In S. K.
Campbell, R. J. Palisano, & M. N. Orlin (Eds.), Physical therapy for children (4th ed., pp. 879-
902). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.
7. National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities. (2010, September). Supports,
modifications, and accommodations for students. Retrieved from
http://nichcy.org/schoolage/accommodations#part1
8. Sandall, S., Hemmeter, M. L., Smith, B. J., & McLean, M. E. (Eds.). (2005). DEC recommended
practices: A comprehensive guide for practical application in early intervention/early
childhood special education. Missoula, MT: Division for Early Childhood.
9. Turnbull, A., Turnbull, R., Erwin, E., Soodak, L., & Shogren, K. (2010). Families, professionals,
and exceptionality: Positive outcomes through partnerships and trust (6th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson.