The year 2021 began with a siege on American democracy witnessed by the world. Two weeks later, the world also watched the youngest inaugural poet state that although democracy can be periodically delayed, it cannot be defeated. As she recited her poem on the day America welcomed a new President, Amanda Gorman brought hope to those who listened. Referring to herself as a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother, she asked: "Where can we find light in this never-ending shade?"
Her question resonated with so many in our country, and in the world. The past year of 2020 brought the international public health pandemic, the confrontation of systematic bias because of race and ethnicity in our country, and the attack on science and truth, along with other negative events. As we look forward to 2021, let us remember the words of a 22-year-old Black poet who grew up with an auditory processing disorder and speech impediment as she said: "The dawn is ours before we knew it. Somehow we do it. And we will."
CURRENT ISSUE
Our first article by Mary Beth Bruder, Darla Gundler, Vicki Stayton, and Peggy Kemp provides a description of the Early Childhood Personnel Center (ECPC), a technical assistance model funded by the Office of Special Education, U.S. Department of Education. This is the last article from the invited presentations at the International Society on Early Intervention's Conference in Sydney Australia in 2019. The purpose of the article is to describe a technical assistance center focused on capacity building of state systems of early childhood intervention through the development, implementation, and evaluation of Comprehensive Systems of Personnel Development (CSPD). A CSPD provides an infrastructure for workforce development and improvement through six interrelated components: recruitment and retention of personnel; personnel standards; preservice programs of study; in-service training and professional development; leadership and sustainability; and evaluation. The article presents information about the ECPC activities and outputs to date.
The next article is a description of a training program on the Inclusive Classroom Profile, which was designed to assess the quality of classroom practices to support the individualized needs of young children with disabilities in inclusive programs. Tracey West, Elena Soukakou, and Pamela Winton report on the effectiveness of training teachers to administer the profile with accuracy and reliability. The trainees reported high ratings for the training, as well as the usability and application of the profile. The trainees also continued to use the measure after training was completed.
Ragan McLeod, Yusuf Akemoglu, and Kimberly Tomeny conducted a review of the literature on coaching home visitors as the next article. Although literature exists on coaching in classrooms or center-based programs, only seven empirical studies were found addressing coaching in the home. Common factors were found among the studies, but the authors suggest that additional research on effective components of coaching in home-based programs is needed in order to establish the practice as evidence based.
An article on food acceptance by children with visual impairment is presented by Alena Clark et al. A pilot study was conducted to assess an intervention using mealtime routines to increase children's acceptance of food texture, variety, and healthy food choices. The children who participated were aged 6-18 months. The intervention involved caretakers and early interventionists and was carried out in homes or childcare settings. Positive results were found with food intake and caregiver and child mealtime behaviors, suggesting the promise of this intervention.
The next article focused on shared book reading and number naming of at-risk preschoolers. Clarissa Alfes, Kristen Missall, and Kathleen Artman Meeker implemented a small group intervention with 10 preschoolers who were at risk for delays in early numeracy development. The intervention was delivered to small groups in 15-minute sessions, three times per week for 8 weeks. The intervention sessions included a manualized counting book and activity, which were delivered in random order each session. The same numerals for number identification, verbal counting during one-to-one correspondence, and number naming were used in the intervention. An adapted alternating treatment design was used, and results indicated that some preschoolers exhibited growth in number naming conditions as compared with those in the control group.
The last article examined the literature on the benefits of allowing deaf children with cochlear implants (CIs) to learn sign language. Mckenna Johnson identified literature that suggested early sign language access showed potential to prevent developmental delays across developmental domains in children. The authors further speculated that a deaf identity (through the use of sign language) could act as a protective factor against the stress of stigma surrounding hearing loss. The review concluded that the potential benefits of allowing deaf children with CIs early and comprehensive access to sign language outweighed any possible risks.
I would like to thank the authors for submitting their work to IYC, and the reviewers who assisted the editorial process by offering salient suggestions to bring these manuscripts to publication. Happy 2021!
-Mary Beth Bruder, PhD
Editor