Advancing what is known about equitable family—professional partnerships in early intervention and early childhood special education (EI/ECSE) requires that scholars disrupt damaging narratives and meaningfully collaborate with marginalized families. While there are many ways that EI/ECSE scholars can address these issues, participatory research is well-suited to do so. Through participatory research, marginalized families are positioned as equitable partners who co-construct inquiry strategies alongside academic researchers. Despite the potential of participatory research, it is relatively uncommon to investigate family partnerships in EI/ECSE. As such, the purpose of this research method report is to examine how participatory scholarship can reckon with deficit-based narratives about families. I present a vision for participatory EI/ECSE family partnerships research, highlighting how this approach repositions families as researchers, centers family wisdom, and redistributes power to families. Recommendations for how EI/ECSE researchers might draw on participatory approaches to transform family partnerships scholarship are shared.
Family-centered care is essential for children with developmental delays (DD). This study examined the demographic characteristics of children and families within Taiwan’s early intervention (EI) system to provide context-specific insights for practice. We conducted a secondary analysis of a large clinical cohort of 2,835 Taiwanese children aged 6 to 85 months who underwent their first comprehensive developmental evaluations between 2018 and 2022. Comparisons were made between typically developing and DD groups, focusing on developmental domains and specific diagnoses such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and intellectual disability (ID). Significant differences were found in age, sex, family structure, and parental characteristics. Cognitive, speech, and motor delays were more common in younger children, while socioemotional delays, ADHD, and ID were more prevalent in older cohorts. Reflecting cultural norms, extended family households were highly prevalent. Furthermore, lower parental education was associated with cognitive/speech delays and ID, whereas higher paternal education was observed in the ASD group, suggesting potential disparities in diagnostic pathways. Findings suggest potential differences in service access and diagnostic concerns’ priorities. To improve outcomes, EI systems must implement equity-oriented, culturally responsive, and family-centered strategies that actively engage diverse family structures and address socioeconomic barriers to service access.
This mixed-methods study examined real-world implementation of the primary service provider (PSP) teaming model in early intervention (EI) programs and identified individual- and program-level factors influencing implementation. Guided by implementation science frameworks, quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 30 practitioners across 11 EI programs using a fidelity checklist, scales, questionnaires, and interviews. Practitioners demonstrated moderate to high implementation fidelity, supported by statewide mandates, systematic training, and technical assistance. Leadership, cross-disciplinary knowledge and skills, ongoing training and colleague coaching, self-efficacy, and attitudinal openness among providers, particularly those with medical backgrounds, emerged as the most influential facilitators, whereas workforce shortages and limited funding constrained team formation and sustainability. Findings suggest that individual-level factors are interrelated with program-level conditions and can be strengthened through organizational supports. They highlight multilevel, context-responsive strategies that engage families and health care providers and address program-specific challenges to strengthen PSP implementation in EI programs.
Early Intervention (EI) is a crucial first-step service for young children with developmental delays and disabilities and their families. With the increased use of EI through telehealth, interest-holders’ perspectives and experiences with telehealth-delivered EI remain critical. Incorporating their voices can enhance the effectiveness of telehealth in EI and ensure high-quality service delivery. This review synthesized research on interest-holders’ experiences with telehealth EI in the United States. Thirteen studies were included and analyzed based on participant characteristics, study designs, and reported perspectives and experiences with EI. Implications for research and practices are discussed.
The joint position statement, Service Coordination in Early Intervention , from the Division for Early Childhood and IDEA Infant and Toddler Coordinators Association, included calls to action and recommendations that the early intervention (EI) field address the workload and compensation challenges faced by service coordinators. This cross-sectional, mixed-methods study used a national survey and focus groups to understand the perspectives of service coordinators regarding these challenges. Data pertaining to the number of families served, pay, greatest needs, and perceptions of professional value are presented. Participants recommended caseloads of 40 to 50 families, but any caseload number is complicated by level of family needs and required frequency of contacts. In all, 61% of participants felt they were inadequately compensated, with comments suggesting that poor pay was a reflection of their professional value in the field. Consistently, participants emphasized that addressing caseloads and compensation were their greatest needs. Implications for the calls to action in the joint position statement are discussed.
