# The Early Intervention Workbook ## Essential Practices for Quality Services by **Lynda Cook Pletcher** Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina and **Naomi O. Younggren** Department of Defense Army Early Intervention ## Contents ### About the Authors ... vii ### Foreword Bonnie Keilty ... ix ### Acknowledgments ... xiii ### Introduction: From Ideas to Publication: Responding to Needs in the Field ... 1 ## I Getting Started: Foundational Knowledge 1. The Importance of Early Intervention ... 7 2. Foundational Pillars of Early Intervention ... 13 3. Seven Key Principles: An Overview ... 37 ## II Agreed-Upon Practices in the Early Intervention Process 4. Beginning the Journey: The Referral and Initial Visits ... 57 5. The Importance of Evaluation and Assessment ... 73 6. Developing an Individualized Family Service Plan ... 91 7. Moving Forward: Individualized Family Service Plan Implementation and Ongoing Intervention ... 115 8. Transition Planning: Leaving Early Intervention ... 133 ## III Agreed-Upon Practices in Action 9. Identifying Questionable Practices ... 151 10. The Significance of Personal and Organizational Change ... 183 ### References ... 201 ### Helpful Resources ... 205 ### Index ... 209 ## About the Authors ### Lynda Cook Pletcher, M.Ed. Lynda Cook Pletcher is a Technical Assistance Specialist with the Early Childhood Technical Assistance (ECTA) Center (formerly NECTAC), which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, where she has worked for 10 years. Her work has included providing technical assistance to states’ birth to 5 early childhood special education systems, leading state strategic planning, addressing service delivery approaches for Part C agencies, review and revision of federal and state policies, and change and implementation of evidence-based practices at the provider level. Lynda’s previous experiences, spanning 35 years in the fields of early childhood and early childhood special education, have included teaching in Head Start and child care centers, in public school systems (kindergarten and third grade), and at the university level, as well as being an early intervention home visitor, part of grant administration, a training coordinator, an agency director, and a state director of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C Program. She has been a frequent national presenter on a wide range of topics pertinent to early childhood and the systems to support evidence-based practices. ### Naomi O. Younggren, Ph.D. Naomi O. Younggren is Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) Coordinator for the Department of Defense Army Educational and Developmental Intervention Services (EDIS) Early Intervention Programs; an adjunct early childhood faculty member with Central Texas College—Europe; and an independent early childhood consultant focusing on early intervention, preschool processes, and recommended practices. Naomi’s 30 years of experience in early childhood special education include being a direct provider working with children with disabilities and their families in early intervention and preschool programs, providing technical assistance, authoring early intervention handbooks and training materials, and serving in a program development and leadership capacity. Her primary areas of focus include authentic assessment, individualized family service plan (IFSP) and preschool individualized education program (IEP) development, natural environments and inclusion, family-centered practices, home visiting, service delivery models, adult learning, and applying the Child Outcomes Summary (COS) for measuring outcomes. ## Chapter Ten # The Significance of Personal and Organizational Change This final chapter discusses implications for personal and organizational change. Without reviewing the extensive literature on change and change models, the chapter highlights some of the positive and negative factors that affect practice changes early intervention programs and providers might be required to implement as advances in research, policy, and practice occur in the field of early intervention. Change is both complex and dynamic. It involves moving or transforming from something familiar to something new and possibly unfamiliar. It might be broad, affecting multiple practices or aspects of the program, or it might be narrow, affecting fewer practices and elements of the program. Regardless of the scale, change is an active process rather than a single event. A change process means there is a relationship among various elements and that each aspect and phase of the change process is related to every other piece (Robinson, 2011). Change is “a highly personal experience and entails developmental growth in feelings and skills” (Hord, Rutherford, Huling-Austin, & Hall, 1998, p. 152). Individuals experiencing a change will have different feelings about the change. They have different skill sets, individual values and beliefs, as well as unique experiences, and they form their own perceptions about the change, what it entails, and what impact it will have. ### Give It a Go! 10.1. Think of a change you have recently gone through and jot down the words that come to your mind when you think about this experience. The words you wrote down may have been positive, such as necessary, timely, visionary, energizing, or welcome. You may have written down more negative words, such as unwanted, frustrating, feared, not necessary, or chaotic. You may also have included words that fit on both ends of the continuum from positive to negative. Whatever words came to mind were likely influenced by changes you are involved in right now and the circumstances associated with those changes. As American journalist Sydney J. Harris remarked in Lara (2003), “Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we want is for things to remain the same but get better!” (p. 46). ## Types of Change Change can be thought of in two large categories: change that is anticipated and change that is reactive. Anticipated change has been talked about, planned for, and has a date or event that will bring it about. Reactive change happens without a preparatory period involving the individuals impacted by the change. Both types of change can cause strong feelings and reactions. ### Reasons for Change - A newly defined vision or direction - A crisis - A new mandate - Data that supports the needed change; the right data at the right time - Changing resources - New information or ideas - Old ways are not getting the needed or desired outcomes - New leadership bringing different practices ## Possible Mistakes Regarding Change One common mistake is not understanding the type of change needed for the task at hand. When thinking about a change and what support is needed, it is important to think about what is currently occurring, including what individuals believe, know, and do. --- ## Actions Leaders Take That Promote Change - Have a clear vision of the desired end state - Understand the variability of the work needed to bring about the desired change in planning and problem solving - Understand adult learning styles - Establish true learning communities - Know their staff - Give vision, direction, and focus to the work at hand - Be an excellent communicator ### Actions Leaders Take that Stifle Change - Regard any idea or suggestion from below with suspicion - Insist that people must have your approval before starting anything - Set up layers of management for individuals to go through before they can act - Treat identified problems as a sign of failure - Control everything carefully - Do not ask for staff input about reorganization that will affect them, just tell them In education, readiness for change is something that needs to be developed, nurtured, and sustained. Leaders need to know the elements of their system and think in whole pictures as well as be able to identify the smaller, critical aspects of the system.