Journal of Early Intervention

Math skills are critical for children’s future success in school, as school-entry math knowledge is the strongest predictor of later academic achievement. Although there is a recent increase of literature on math with young children, there is a scarcity of research related to young children with disabilities. This quasi-experimental study with 50 preschool aged children with disabilities examined the effects of an intervention that integrated mathematics and literature on early numeracy skills. The intervention was conducted 3 days per week for 6 weeks, and consisted of an interactive shared storybook reading including mathematical content through scripted questioning and discussions and story-related mathematical activities after the reading of the story. Children who received the intervention scored significantly higher than the comparison group in total math ability, quantity comparison, one-to-one correspondence counting, and oral counting as measured by scores on the Test of Early Mathematics Ability, Third Edition (TEMA-3) and the Individual Growth & Development Indicators Early Numeracy (IGDIS-EN).

A qualitative study of three parents and their toddlers with autism was conducted to investigate the communicative functions underlying parent–toddler interactions and how the instrumental or social nature of one partner’s actions influenced the other’s engagement. Parent–child interaction videos collected from a separate intervention study were transcribed with thick description, coded for literal and inferential meaning by independent coders, and analyzed for emergent themes following an iterative process of code categorization. Themes converged around the partner as instrument, attempted but missed social connections, and congruent social engagement. A complementary interactional sequential analysis revealed that communicative functions of initiating partners were largely mirrored in their partners’ responding actions, suggesting that actively supporting parents to interact with their toddlers socially, rather than prescriptively or instrumentally, may be a potent intervention strategy to address the core social communication challenge in autism during the formative early developmental period.

A simulation study that used 3,000 computer-generated event streams with known behavior rates, interval durations, and session durations was conducted to test whether the main and interaction effects of true rate and interval duration affect the error level of uncorrected and Poisson-transformed (i.e., corrected) count as estimated by partial-interval recording. For both count estimates, shorter intervals and lower true rates resulted in less error than longer intervals and higher rates. For all conditions tested, Poisson-corrected estimates were more accurate than uncorrected estimates. Therefore, using Poisson-corrected estimates and short intervals are recommended when partial-interval recording is used to estimate counts. Generality of results might be restricted to events that are about 1-s long. A URL was provided to aid in the computation of corrected counts.

The purpose of this study was to pilot test the effects of a culturally adapted early intervention influenced by the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) on reduction of autism symptoms and severity categorization for young children with autism spectrum disorders in China. Participants were randomly assigned to either the control or intervention groups. The children’s age ranged from 24 to 60 months in this study. Children in the control group (n = 20) received eclectic intervention services for a minimum of 2 hr per day, 10 hr per week, while children in the intervention group (n = 16) received the culturally adapted intervention 1 hr per day, 5 hr per week, plus 5 hr per week of the same services as the control group for a total of 8 weeks. After 8 weeks, children in the intervention group demonstrated a significant decrease in autism symptoms and improved severity categorization, compared with children in the control group. Future studies and implications of the culturally adapted early intervention in China are discussed.

Children with disabilities often have deficits in imitation skills, particularly in imitating peers. Imitation is considered a behavioral cusp—which, once learned, allows a child to access additional and previously unavailable learning opportunities. In the current study, researchers examined the efficacy of contingent reinforcement delivered within a small group play context on the unprompted peer imitation (UPI) behaviors of three children with disabilities. UPI behaviors increased when contingent reinforcement was provided, and maintained with a thinned schedule of reinforcement. However, pretend play and social interactions did not increase concurrently with peer imitation.

A multiple-probe, single-case design was used to determine the effects of bug-in-ear eCoaching on teachers’ use of two targeted naturalistic communication strategies and focus children’s responses to these strategies. Results indicated that bug-in-ear eCoaching enhanced teachers’ use of communication strategies and the appropriate responses of children with communication difficulties. Moreover, novice teachers reported that bug-in-ear eCoaching was a socially valid intervention.