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Learn more about what trauma is, what may cause trauma in young children, and how to best reach children impacted by trauma.

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Our nation's teachers are as critical to young people and society as they've ever been. Teachers provide care that might be lacking in the home. They're trained to guard against school violence, and more recently, the threat of COVID-19. They're working with students to adjust to new models of learning and new modes of forming relationships. And, amid this backdrop, teachers are still charged with their most important task: shaping the hearts and minds of their students every day. In doing so, they often make decisions about which information and which discussions are appropriate for the school setting-and which ones may not be. The reality, however, is that students often enter their learning environments well aware of the latest news headlines or are directly experiencing the challenges of a world in crisis: a global health pandemic, racial injustice, and economic uncertainty.

The Experience of Trauma

Trauma-defined as any event that makes a person feel like their life or the life of someone they love is threatened in some way-is a widespread experience among children in the United States. According to the 2018 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), one in three children under the age of 18 experiences trauma (a number that has only been increasing during 2020). When trauma occurs early in life, it can be debilitating if adequate supports for healing are unavailable. The National Education Association (NEA) reports that traumatized five-year-olds are three times more likely to have problems with paying attention, and two times more likely to show aggression.

Today many children are experiencing trauma firsthand, and some are facing tremendous loss. It may be the loss of a family member, a routine, or the mental health services often provided through school. For students of color and students in vulnerable communities, these concerns are especially profound; data from the Education Trust reveals that these children often have far less access to a range of resources and, therefore, more learning gaps and elevated stress levels.

Activating Powerful Approaches for Trauma Informed Care

As school leaders and educators, being equipped to deal with heightened and varying degrees of behavioral and mental health challenges-feelings of isolation, anxiety, grief, and much more-among all of our students is currently as essential as ensuring their academic achievement. So how do we support them in dealing with the uncertainty of these times, while bolstering their feeling of emotional safety? As we expand support for students in our care, it is important that we understand and are ready to deploy a trauma-informed approach. A trauma-informed approach is, at its heart, a relationship-based approach: it creates an opportunity for the teacher to work with students to understand their life stories and identify their triggers, develop their coping skills, and find their power to show up in our schools authentically.

Download 4R's PDF Here
First I want to offer a powerful example of a teacher using a trauma-informed approach and then introduce you to an effective framework for activating it. In the classroom one day, a teacher's student walked into class wearing a hat. Everyone knows students can't wear a hat during class. The teacher said: "Young man you need to take your hat off." He didn't respond. She repeated herself, and he still didn't respond. At that moment, she might have been inclined to discipline him-like many of us may be similarly inclined at that point. But instead, she thoughtfully took the student aside, asking him: "What is so important about this hat?" After some nudging, the student finally revealed that he had been placed into foster care the night before, and the only thing connecting him to his mother was his beloved hat. The teacher worked with him: she talked to him with compassion and helped him to put the hat in a place where he could see it and know it was there; but they agreed he wouldn't wear it until the end of the day. Understanding his story led to an effective trauma-informed approach instead of an escalating situation leading to the principal's office.

4 R's Framework

A useful method for understanding and deploying a trauma-informed approach similar to the aforementioned is using the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) 4 R's framework:

Realize the widespread impact of trauma

Recognize how it is impacting the student

Respond in a way to allow students to feel heard and facilitate healing from trauma

Resist re-traumatization

1. Realize the widespread impact of trauma

The traumatic events students experience are sometimes difficult for adults to believe given the unthinkable pain these experiences inflict. However, a school's realization of the widespread impact trauma has on the student body is the first meaningful step toward creating a trauma-informed school. By acknowledging trauma can disrupt students' academic, social, and emotional well-being, administrators and teachers are positioned to respond to student behavioral challenges with supports that keep students in the classroom, instead of disciplinary actions that disconnect them from school.

Realizing the widespread impact of trauma begins to restore trust that may have been lost when others failed to see how these traumatic experiences contributed to challenging behaviors. Creating regular opportunities to check in with students about the impact of experiences outside the classroom provides a practical strategy for trauma acknowledgment without requiring administrators and teachers to become mental health professionals. Questions such as, "what has been toughest for you about everything happening in the world this past week?" or "could you share some of the feelings you and your family had this week about the changes we experienced this school year?" open the door to regular communication that destigmatizes students sharing about their experiences. Ultimately, simply asking these questions routinely can increase insight about drivers of student behavior and begin the process of healing from trauma that occurs when administrators and school staff recognize the signs of trauma.

2. Recognize how it is impacting the student

As students navigate current life challenges while managing in-person or remote learning during an uncertain time, it is important to actively engage students in opportunities to share how challenges are impacting their social-emotional well-being. Whether students are eager to engage or appear unresponsive, their behavior provides insight into their mental health and can clue school staff into signs that trauma is impacting students. Signs may include changes in mood, appearing "zoned out," argumentative and aggressive behavior, avoidance of class, and pervasive negative feelings about themselves or the world in general.

When students are displaying these behaviors frequently or intensely, it is likely that their brain is working to keep them safe from threats they consciously or unconsciously believe are present. If we were to simplify how the brain responds to trauma, we could divide the brain into two parts: survival brain and learning brain. The survival brain is responsible for our stress response (fight, flight, or freeze), while the learning brain is responsible for our executive functioning skills (i.e., impulse control, accurately reading situations, etc.). Recognizing the signs that students are impacted by trauma and their survival brain is highly activated is an important step toward restoring feelings of safety for students and prompting the use of their learning brain to deal with challenges in school and life.

Administrators and teachers can begin helping students calm their survival brain by identifying triggers for feeling unsafe. These triggers are anything that consciously or unconsciously reminds students of traumatic experiences and may include unpredictable situations, yelling, being ignored, people who remind the student of someone who traumatized them in the past, or certain times of the year such as the holidays because they remind students of people they have lost. Actively asking students about thoughts or body sensations the student had before feeling very unsafe and their survival brain activated begins to help the student and staff feel empowered. This empowerment supports students controlling their behavior before it becomes too disruptive to the class or the student's life.

By working with students to document triggers, it gives students practice using their learning brain to think through effective strategies for responding to triggers, and will likely give administrators and teachers ideas for reducing or eliminating triggers from the classroom and school environment. Ultimately, this trauma-informed approach opens the door to schools effectively responding to the impact of trauma and facilitating healing.

3. Respond in a way to allow students to feel heard

As educators encourage students to activate their learning brain, administrator and teacher responses using strategies that help students feel heard and seen are foundational to facilitating a trauma-informed approach that calms a highly activated survival brain. A primary strategy is ensuring information is digestible and easy to understand for students. Students who have experienced trauma may have difficulty finding emotional safety in the classroom. Educators who give confusing directions, create unpredictable situations, or abruptly introduce transitions such as moving quickly to the next task without a warning, can heighten student feelings of emotional unsafety. Actively creating a predictable school environment that is structured to support students' emotional needs communicates a desire to be responsive to student needs prior to their behavioral outbursts.

When students feel their emotional needs are seen by educators before they are in crisis, it can empower them to communicate emotional needs more frequently. A trauma-informed approach maximizes students' feelings of empowerment by providing opportunities for student choice and access to opportunities for expression of emotional needs and healing. Trauma can lead to feelings of powerlessness and providing opportunities for students to choose their school experiences can counter these feelings and promote healthier decisions. Choices as simple as students choosing their seat in the classroom can potentially diffuse volatile situations while cultivating empowerment and accountability for managing their behavior after they make a choice. Coupling choices with opportunities to receive emotional support ranging from access to a calming corner to an opportunity to speak with a trusted adult when upset can validate legitimate feelings of anger and sadness, while opening the door to experiences that strengthen the learning brain.

The hope is students who have experienced trauma receive support that bolsters trust, provides a pathway to therapeutic services when needed, and does not re-traumatize the student and cause further harm.

4. Resist re-traumatization

Schools generally have intentions to support students, particularly those impacted by trauma. Intentions, unfortunately, do not always equate to impact. Holistically integrating a trauma-informed approach involves recognizing the impact of individual traumatic events such as abuse and domestic violence while also acknowledging the role of historical and intergenerational traumas on communities. Historical traumas represent collective woundings that have impacted entire communities such as the Holocaust, genocide of indigenous people, and slavery, while intergenerational trauma reflects the transmission of trauma across generations. Collectively, these individual and collective traumatic experiences may lead students and their parents to protect themselves from systems that they believe caused harm to their community in the past.

Parental behaviors such as refusing to let students engage with school counselors or showing sensitivity to exclusionary disciplinary actions for their child that received less punitive responses for students of a different race or ethnicity may be misinterpreted by administrators and teachers as defiant or oppositional. From the parent and student perspectives, it may be viewed as students and parents protecting themselves from the unintended systemic impacts of bias that is generated from historical and intergenerational traumas. By educators believing the route to trauma-informed responses in schools can only happen when trauma-informed solutions are proposed by school staff, schools may unintentionally cause additional harm and ignore one of the most important steps to building a trauma-informed school: asking parents and students what will support their healing. Administrators and teachers position schools to maximize trauma-informed approach by viewing students and families as partners in building a trauma-informed school.

Learn More: Empowered Students

Overcoming the impact of past traumatic experiences can be a healing journey for students that schools can serve as a central facilitator. Educators have the unique opportunity to create a trauma-informed school that increases emotional safety, builds prosocial skills, and promotes healthy decision-making processes for all students. It can be a challenging, extended process, but the reward is creating more empowered students prepared to contribute as citizens in a complex and interconnected world.

As you and your school consider how to meet students where they are during challenging times, online psychoeducational services may support your school in extending its in-person team and reaching students at home and in school.
Dr. Pickens is a licensed clinical psychologist, an avid speaker, and the founder of iOpening Enterprises. He recently partnered with PresenceLearning to launch Finding Your Power in Uncertain Times, a six-session program designed to help students who are struggling with life's current stressors including COVID-19, economic uncertainty, and civil unrest.

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Deploying a Trauma-Informed Approach: Use the 4 R's

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Our nation's teachers are as critical to young people and society as they've ever been. Teachers provide care that might be lacking in the home. They're trained to guard against school violence, and more recently, the threat of COVID-19. They're working with students to adjust to new models of learning and new modes of forming relationships.

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This section contains a variety of resources from SEL curriculums, to articles with ways to practice social-emotional wellness in the classroom.

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Do you have a child with challenging behavior at your early childhood program? Are you unsure how to help him or her?

Now there's support for you.

The Ohio Preschool Expulsion Prevention Partnership is a free, statewide program that aims to reduce the rate of expulsions in preschool age children.

This FREE resource is available for:

Any licensed preschool or family child care provider licensed by Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) or Ohio Department of Education (ODE)

Head Start programs

Private preschools

The Ohio Preschool Expulsion Prevention Partnership will:

Come to your program site to provide support within 48 hours of your request

Provide tools and resources for providers on ways to manage challenging behaviors through observation, modeling specific strategies and information on specific topics

Link you to helpful, free Ohio Approved Trainings

Notice: The Ohio Preschool Expulsion Prevention Partnership is still available to help early childhood programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Call (844) 678-2227.
If you're a parent or provider wanting to learn more about this service, please see the FAQs below.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I request free support through OPEPP?

How does an on-site consultation work?

Consultants work with you to:
Request a Consultation
How is the Ohio Preschool Expulsion Prevention Partnership funded?

Testimonials
"Through the OPEPP, our consultant has become a huge asset to us, our children, and our families. In addition to the targeted advice she has offered for specific children/situations, she has provided frameworks for thinking about challenging behavior, knowledge that helps us understand children better, and interventions that can be applied in many situations. Her advice feels very personalized - that she has considered who we are as a program, who the child is, and the family situation. Best of all, her suggestions feel like true suggestions, not dictates, allowing us to decide if and how to implement them in a way that makes sense in our context. We are very grateful for the services."
-Co-director, part-time preschool program
"Thank you for spending time with (classroom teacher) and I. It is good to have someone with fresh eyes and voice to offer sound advice. I have taken your guidance to heart and will be more intent to being more positive with staff. I have also thought about the non-negotiables that I want to tackle in the near future. Maintaining proper balance can be difficult." -Director of small community based preschool program in Columbus, OH
"This afternoon I sang his bed time song, "10 Little Ducks," to him and another teacher chimed in with me. He stared right at me like I was finally speaking his language, then he started singing with me. I felt like crying, what a break through. I know we have a long way to go, but I feel with your help, already we are starting that break though!
We appreciate all your time and help." -Child Care Center, Northwest Ohio

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Ohio Preschool Expulsion Prevention Partnership

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Do you have a child with challenging behavior at your early childhood program? Are you unsure how to help him or her? Now there's support for you. The Ohio Preschool Expulsion Prevention Partnership is a free, statewide program that aims to reduce the rate of expulsions in preschool age children.

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Resources to support your overall wellbeing in your personal and professional life.

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Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

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Science X Design: Three Principles to Improve Outcomes for Children

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The Office of Early Learning and School Readiness aims for families, preschool staff, and the community to work together to meet the needs of young children with disabilities. To meet individual children's needs, districts offer a variety of preschool special education services. Children with disabilities may receive services in public schools, private preschools, or child care centers.

Each child with a disability has an Individualized Education Program, or IEP. Parents, teachers, therapists, and school administrators collaborate to write the IEP. The IEP lists the individual goals for the child and the services the child receives.

Resources

Indicator 6: Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

Indicator 7: Child Outcomes Summary (COS):

Indicator 12: Early Childhood Transition

Forms

Funding

Reports

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The Office of Early Learning and School Readiness aims for families, preschool staff, and the community to work together to meet the needs of young children with disabilities. To meet individual children's needs, districts offer a variety of preschool special education services. Children with disabilities may receive services in public schools, private preschools, or child care centers.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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From birth to 5 years, your child should reach milestones in how he plays, learns, speaks, acts and moves. Track your child's development and act early if you have a concern.

Act Early Ambassadors work to integrate LTSAE across the country.

A federal effort to encourage healthy child development.

Here you'll find the agency to contact in your state if you have a concern about your young child's development.

See how others help their communities "Learn the Signs." and "Act Early."

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free materials to track child development

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free materials for early care and education

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"Learn the Signs. Act Early." has FREE child development tools

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Use CDC's "Learn the Signs. Act Early." tools to track and celebrate children's developmental milestones from 2 months to 5 years and learn what to do if you ever have a concern.

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Esta información en español | This information in Spanish
Current as of July 2021

If you're concerned about the development of an infant or toddler, or you suspect that a little one has a disability, this page will summarize one terrific source of help-the early intervention system in your state. Early intervention services can help infants and toddlers with disabilities or delays to learn many key skills and catch up in their development. There's a lot to know about early intervention. We present the "basics" here to get you started.

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What is early intervention?

Early intervention is a system of services that helps babies and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities. Early intervention focuses on helping eligible babies and toddlers learn the basic and brand-new skills that typically develop during the first three years of life, such as:

physical (reaching, rolling, crawling, and walking);

cognitive (thinking, learning, solving problems);

communication (talking, listening, understanding);

social/emotional (playing, feeling secure and happy); and

self-help (eating, dressing).

Examples of early intervention services | If an infant or toddler has a disability or a developmental delay in one or more of these developmental areas, that child will likely be eligible for early intervention services. Those services will be tailored to meet the child's individual needs and may include:

Assistive technology (devices a child might need)

Audiology or hearing services

Speech and language services

Counseling and training for a family

Medical services

Nursing services

Nutrition services

Occupational therapy

Physical therapy

Psychological services

Services may also be provided to address the needs and priorities of the child's family. Family-directed services are meant to help family members understand the special needs of their child and how to enhance his or her development.

Authorized by law | Early intervention is available in every state and territory of the United States. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires it-Part C of IDEA, to be precise. That's why you'll sometimes hear early intervention referred to as Part C.

Who's eligible for early intervention?

Early intervention is intended for infants and toddlers who have a developmental delay or disability. Eligibility is determined by evaluating the child (with parents' consent) to see if the little one does, in fact, have a delay in development or a disability. Eligible children can receive early intervention services from birth through the third birthday (and sometimes beyond).

For some children, from birth | Sometimes it is known from the moment a child is born that early intervention services will be essential in helping the child grow and develop. Often this is so for children who are diagnosed at birth with a specific condition or who experience significant prematurity, very low birth weight, illness, or surgery soon after being born. Even before heading home from the hospital, this child's parents may be given a to their local early intervention office.

For others, because of delays in development | Some children have a relatively routine entry into the world, but may develop more slowly than others, experience set backs, or develop in ways that seem very different from other children. For these children, a visit with a developmental pediatrician and a thorough evaluation may lead to an early intervention referral.

Parents don't have to wait for a referral to early intervention, however. If you're concerned about your child's development, you may contact your local program directly and ask to have your child evaluated. That evaluation is provided free of charge. If you're not sure how to locate the early intervention program in your community-keep reading. We give that information a bit further down the page.

However a child comes to be referred, evaluated, and determined eligible, early intervention services provide vital support so that children with developmental needs can thrive and grow.

What's a developmental delay?

The term "developmental delay" is an important one in early intervention. Broadly speaking, it means that a child is delayed in some area of development. There are five areas in which development may be affected:

Cognitive development

Physical development, including vision and hearing

Communication development

Social or emotional development

Adaptive development

Developmental milestones | Think of all the baby skills that can fall under any one of those developmental areas! Babies and toddlers have a lot of new skills to learn, so it's always of concern when a child's development seems slow or more difficult than would normally be expected. Our developmental milestones page outlines some of the typical skills that babies and toddlers learn by certain ages. It's a good resource to consult if you're concerned that a child may have a developmental delay.

Definition of "developmental delay" | Part C of IDEA defines the term "developmental delay." But the meaning of the term varies from state to state, because each state defines the term for itself, including:

describing the evaluation and assessment procedures that will be used to measure a child's development in each of the five developmental areas; and

specifying the level of delay in functioning (or other comparable criteria) that constitutes a developmental delay in each of the five developmental areas.

What's your state's definition? | To find out how your state defines the term "developmental delay," you can ask your child's pediatrician or the local health department. Most likely, the definition is also online, so you can also "search" for it, making sure to include the name of your state in the search.

Read more about developmental delay | We also offer a fact sheet on developmental delay that you may find helpful in understanding the developing child, what to do if you're concerned about your own child's development, and where to turn for more information.

If you're concerned about a baby or toddler's development

It's not uncommon for parents and family members to become concerned when their beautiful baby or growing toddler doesn't seem to be developing according to the normal schedule of "baby" milestones.

"He hasn't rolled over yet."

"The little girl next door is already sitting up on her own!"

"She should be saying a few words by now."

Sound familiar? While it's true that children develop differently, at their own pace, and that the range of what's "normal" development is quite broad, it's hard not to worry and wonder.

What to do | If you think that your child is not developing at the same pace or in the same way as most children his or her age, it is often a good idea to talk first to your child's pediatrician. Explain your concerns. Tell the doctor what you have observed with your child. Your child may have a disability or a developmental delay, or he or she may be at risk of having a disability or delay.

You can also get in touch with your community's early intervention program, and ask to have your little one evaluated to see if he or she has a developmental delay or disability. This evaluation is free of charge, won't hurt your child, and looks at his or her basic skills. Based on that evaluation, your child may be eligible for early intervention services, which will be designed to address your child's special needs or delays.

How to get in touch with your community's early intervention program | There are several ways to connect with the EI program in your community. Try any of these suggestions:

Contact the Pediatrics branch in a local hospital and ask where you should call to find out about early intervention services in your area.

Ask your pediatrician for a referral to the local early intervention system.

Visit the ECTA Center's early intervention "contacts" page, at:
http://ectacenter.org/contact/ptccoord.asp

What to say to the early intervention contact person | Explain that you are concerned about your child's development. Say that you think your child may need early intervention services. Explain that you would like to have your child evaluated under Part C of IDEA.

Referral | Write down any information the contact person gives you. You will probably be referred to either your community's early intervention program or to what is known as Child Find. Child Find operates in every state to identify babies and toddlers who need early intervention services because of developmental delays or disability. You can use the Parent's Record-Keeping Worksheet to keep track of this important information. In fact, in general, it's a good idea to write down the names and phone numbers of everyone you talk to as you move through the early intervention process.

The evaluation and assessment process

Service coordinator | Once connected with either Child Find or your community's early intervention program, you'll be assigned a service coordinator who will explain the early intervention process and help you through the next steps in that process. The service coordinator will serve as your single point of contact with the early intervention system.

Screening and/or evaluation| One of the first things that will happen is that your child will be evaluated to see if, indeed, he or she has a developmental delay or disability. (In some states, there may be a preliminary step called to see if there's cause to suspect that a baby or toddler has a disability or developmental delay.) The family's service coordinator will explain what's involved in the screening and/or evaluation and ask for your permission to proceed. You must provide your written consent before screening and/or evaluation may take place.

The evaluation group will be made up of qualified people who have different areas of training and experience. Together, they know about children's speech and language skills, physical abilities, hearing and vision, and other important areas of development. They know how to work with children, even very young ones, to discover if a child has a problem or is developing within normal ranges. Group members may evaluate your child together or individually. As part of the evaluation, the team will observe your child, ask your child to do things, talk to you and your child, and use other methods to gather information. These procedures will help the team find out how your child functions in the five areas of development.

Exceptions for diagnosed physical or mental conditions | It's important to note that an evaluation of your child won't be necessary if he or she is automatically eligible due to a diagnosed physical or mental condition that has a high probability of resulting in a developmental delay. Such conditions include but aren't limited to chromosomal abnormalities; genetic or congenital disorders; sensory impairments; inborn errors of metabolism; disorders reflecting disturbance of the development of the nervous system; congenital infections; severe attachment disorders; and disorders secondary to exposure to toxic substances, including fetal alcohol syndrome. Many states have policies that further specify what conditions automatically qualify an infant or toddler for early intervention (e.g., Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome).

Determining eligibility | The results of the evaluation will be used to determine your child's eligibility for early intervention services. You and a team of professionals will meet and review all of the data, results, and reports. The people on the team will talk with you about whether your child meets the criteria under IDEA and state policy for having a developmental delay, a diagnosed physical or mental condition, or being at risk for having a substantial delay. If so, your child is generally found to be eligible for services.

Initial assessment of the child | With parental consent, indepth assessment must now be conducted to determine your child's unique needs and the early intervention services appropriate to address those needs. Initial assessment will include reviewing the results of the evaluation, personal observation of your child, and identifying his or her needs in each developmental area.

Initial assessment of the family | With approval of the family members involved, assessments of family members are also conducted to identify the resources, concerns, and priorities of the family related to enhancing the development of your child. The family-directed assessment is voluntary on the part of each family member participating in the assessment and is based on information gathered through an assessment tool and also through an interview with those family members who elect to participate.

Who pays for all this? | Under IDEA, evaluations and assessments are provided at no cost to parents. They are funded by state and federal monies.

Writing the IFSP

Having collected a great deal of information about your child and family, it's now possible for the team (including you as parents) to sit down and write anindividualized plan of action for your child and family. This plan is called the Individualized Family Service Plan, or IFSP. It is a very important document, and you, as parents, are important members of the team that develops it. Each state has specific guidelines for the IFSP. Your service coordinator can explain what the IFSP guidelines are in your state.

Guiding principles | The IFSP is a written document that, among other things, outlines the early intervention services that your child and family will receive. One guiding principal of the IFSP is that the family is a child's greatest resource, that a young child's needs are closely tied to the needs of his or her family. The best way to support children and meet their needs is to support and build upon the individual strengths of their family. So, the IFSP is a whole family plan with the parents as major contributors in its development. Involvement of other team members will depend on what the child needs. These other team members could come from several agencies and may include medical people, therapists, child development specialists, social workers, and others.

What info is included in an IFSP? | Your child's IFSP must include the following:

Your child's present physical, cognitive, communication, social/emotional, and adaptive development levels and needs

Family information (with your agreement), including the resources, priorities, and concerns of you, as parents, and other family members closely involved with the child

The major results or outcomes expected to be achieved for your child and family

The specific services your child will be receiving

Where in the natural environment (e.g., home, community) the services will be provided (if the services will not be provided in the natural environment, the IFSP must include a statement justifying why not)

When and where your son or daughter will receive services

The number of days or sessions he or she will receive each service and how long each session will last

Who will pay for the services

The name of the service coordinator overseeing the implementation of the IFSP

The steps to be taken to support your child's transition out of early intervention and into another program when the time comes.

The IFSP may also identify services your family may be interested in, such as financial information or information about raising a child with a disability.

Informed parental consent | The IFSP must be fully explained to you, the parents, and your suggestions must be considered. You must give written consent for each service to be provided. If you do not give your consent in writing, your child will not receive that service.

Reviewing and updating the IFSP | The IFSP is reviewed every six months and is updated at least once a year. This takes into account that children can learn, grow, and change quickly in just a short period of time.

Timeframes for all this

When the early intervention system receives a referral about a child with a suspected disability or developmental delay, a time clock starts running. Within 45 days, the early intervention system must complete the critical steps discussed thus far:

screening (if used in the state),

initial evaluation of the child,

initial assessments of the child and family, and

writing the IFSP (if the child has been found eligible).

That's a tall order, but important, given how quickly children grow and change. When a baby or toddler has developmental issues, they need to be addressed as soon as possible. So-45 days, that's the timeframe from referral to completion of the IFSP for an eligible child.

Who pays for the services?

Whether or not you, as parents, will have to pay for any services for your child depends on the policies of your state. Check with your service coordinator. Your state's system of payments must be available in writing and given to you, so there are no surprises or unexpected bills later.

What's free to families | Under Part C of IDEA, the following services must be provided at no cost to families:

Child Find services;

evaluations and assessments;

the development and review of the IFSP; and

service coordination.

When services are not free | Depending on your state's policies, you may have to pay for certain other services. You may be charged a "sliding-scale" fee, meaning the fees are based on what you earn. Some services may be covered by your health insurance, by Medicaid, or by Indian Health Services. The Part C system may ask for your permission to access your public or private insurance in order to pay for the early intervention services your child receives. In most cases, the early intervention system may not use your health care insurance (private or public) without your express, written consent. If you do not give such consent, the system may not limit or deny you or your child services.

Every effort is made to provide services to all infants and toddlers who need help, regardless of family income. Services cannot be denied to a child just because his or her family is not able to pay for them.

**Highly Rated Resource! This resource was reviewed by 3-member panels of Parent Center staff working independently from one another to rate the quality, relevance, and usefulness of CPIR resources. This resource was found to be of "High Quality, High Relevance, High Usefulness" to Parent Centers.
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Would you like to visit another page in the Early Intervention Suite of pages?

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Esta información en español | This information in Spanish Current as of July 2021 If you're concerned about the development of an infant or toddler, or you suspect that a little one has a disability, this page will summarize one terrific source of help-the early intervention system in your state.

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Bright Futures is a national health promotion and prevention initiative, led by the American Academy of Pediatrics and supported, in part, by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)​, Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).

The Bright Futures Guidelines provide theory-based and evidence-driven guidance for all preventive care screenings and health supervision visits. Bright Futures content can be incorporated into many public health programs such as home visiting, child care, school-based health clinics and many others. Materials developed especially for families are also available.​​​

Quality Improvement

Find information, tools and links to networks and resources for practitioners wishing to participate in quality improvement (QI) efforts. The information found here can be used at the practice level to address desired health outcomes of importance to the children and families in a particular practice, health care system, community or state.
Learn More

Implementation Stories

Speakers with state health departments, AAP Chapters, clinicians and others who work in the field of maternal and child health share their lessons learned about the use of the Bright Futures Guidelines, tools and related resources in brief audio records.
See More

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Bright Futures is a national health promotion and prevention initiative that provides theory-based and evidence-driven guidance for all preventive care screenings and well-child visits.

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Your child is advancing from infancy toward and into the preschool years. During this time, his physical growth and motor development will slow, but you can expect to see some tremendous intellectual, social, and emotional changes.

Adolescence can be a challenge for parents. Your youngster may at times be a source of frustration and exasperation, not to mention financial stress. But these years also bring many, many moments of joy, pride, laughter and closeness.

Young Adult: 18-21 yrs.

A young adult who goes away to a college or a job far from home has to build a social support system from the ground up. At the same time, he may have to acclimate himself to a drastically different environment.

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Your child is advancing from infancy toward and into the preschool years. During this time, his physical growth and motor development will slow, but you can expect to see some tremendous intellectual, social, and emotional changes. Adolescence can be a challenge for parents.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Skills such as taking a first step, smiling for the first time, and waving "bye bye" are called developmental milestones. Children reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, act, and move.

Click on the age of your child to see the milestones:

"Learn the Signs. Act Early." materials are not a substitute for standardized, validated developmental screening tools.

Special acknowledgments to the subject matter experts and others who contributed to the review of data and selection of developmental milestones, especially Paul H. Lipkin, MD, Michelle M. Macias, MD, Julie F. Pajek, PhD, Judith S. Shaw, EdD, MPH, RN, Karnesha Slaughter, MPH, Jane K. Squires, PhD, Toni M. Whitaker, MD, Lisa D. Wiggins, PhD, and Jennifer M. Zubler, MD.
Sincere gratitude to Natalia Benza, MD and José O. Rodríguez, MD, MBA for their thoughtful review of the Spanish-language translation of these milestones.

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“learn the signs. act early.” milestones

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Developmental milestones are things most children can do by a certain age. Track your child's milestones and talk with your child's doctor at every visit about the milestones your child has reached

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Update to MyPlate

Remember the Food Guide Pyramid? It was great for its time, but much has changed since 1992. USDA invites you to update to MyPlate. It's the modern way to eat better every day. It's easy to use, customizable, based on science, and an overall great way to enjoy healthier eating.

Launched in 2011, MyPlate's symbol is a simple visual reminder to choose a variety of foods throughout the day and throughout the week. It represents what and how much to eat from each of the food groups over the course of the day, whether you eat on a plate, from a bowl, or another way.

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What is MyPlate? USDA MyPlate is the five food groups! The benefits of healthy eating add up over time, bite by bite. Small changes matter. Start Simple with MyPlate. A healthy eating routine is important at every stage of life and can have positive effects that add up over time.

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A trauma-informed parenting curriculum.

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Your Journey Together | Resilience in Vulnerable Children and Families

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Your Journey Together focuses on building resilience in vulnerable children and families through home visits from a designated coach.

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Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services | Ohio.gov

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An official State of Ohio site. Here’s how you know

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https://centerforresilientchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/Devereux-Resilient-Leadership-Survey-DERLS-Packet.pdf Link to the Resilient Leadership Survey

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[Webinar] Resilient Leadership: Building STAFF Bounce

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Developmentally appropriate, standardized, and evaluative tool that can be used in developing action plans for children who have been exposed to trauma or toxic stress.

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The continuum of resources developed by the Devereux Center for Resilient Children (DCRC) support the healthy social and emotional development and resilience of children and the adults who care for them.

Building from resilience research, DCRC has developed nationally standardized, reliable and valid assessments that help to strengthen protective factors in children from birth through preschool. These strength-based assessments provide the cornerstone of our work. Each assessment is:

Easy to Use. Complete an assessment and use companion strategies to build the critical social and emotional skills children need.

Research-Based. Nationally standardized, reliable and valid, the assessments meet or exceed standards for high quality.

Comprehensive. The assessments are completed by caregivers, teachers and families, ensuring a team approach to building social and emotional skills for all children.

Strength-Based. The tools help to build on a child's existing competencies and offer a strength-based approach to address areas identified for growth.

Positive Outcomes. The information contributes to significant, positive change in the life of a child.

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Summary and Technical Information for Assessment Tools - Devereux

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The continuum of resources developed by the Devereux Center for Resilient Children (DCRC) support the healthy social and emotional development and resilience of children and the adults who care for them. Building from resilience research, DCRC has developed nationally standardized, reliable and valid assessments that help to strengthen protective factors in children from birth through preschool.

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Ages zero to three are the most important for lifelong mental health and well-being.

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Mindfulness Toolkit for Early Childhood Organizations 

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Mindfulness Toolkit for Early Childhood Organizations 

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Getting Started with Mindfulness: A Toolkit for Early Childhood Organizations

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In this toolkit, learn more about the case for implementing mindfulness in early childhood organizations and try hands-on strategies.

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Find a good book to cozy up with!

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Topics addressed include: Resilience in maltreated children and adults, resilience and self-control impairment, relational resilience in young and adolescent girls, asset-building as an essential component of treatment, assessment of social and emotional competencies related to resilience, building resilience through school bullying prevention programs, large-scale longitudinal studies on resilience.

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Handbook of Resilience in Children: Goldstein, Sam, Brooks, Robert B. + Free Shipping

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Developmentally appropriate, standardized, and evaluative tool that can be used in developing an action plan for children who have been exposed to trauma or toxic stress.

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Sign up to help if you work with diverse families.

Support healthy development with today's most trusted screeners

Screening Resource Finder

The Screening Resource Finder makes it easy to locate helpful resources within our step-by-step Screening Navigator. Explore free tools and resources tailored to each step of the screening process, starting with the very first planning phase.

Before you Begin

What's My Role as a...

As an early childhood educator, you play a vital role in ensuring that every young child is screened. Start by partnering with parents to explain why developmental screening is so important, introduce ASQ, and address any concerns they might have. Once parents complete the questionnaires, ASQ makes it easy for you to score them and interpret the results. Then sit down with parents to share what the screener revealed, plan next steps, and give them tips and strategies for encouraging their child's progress.
Learn more in the Training Portal
Resources

Program administrators lay the critical groundwork for a successful screening program. Your first role is to plan your program, from determining goals to choosing your screener. Once your plan is in place, train and support your staff on every step of screening, including engaging parents, communicating results sensitively, and connecting families with community resources for referral. You'll also want to evaluate the success of your screening program and make periodic adjustments when necessary.
Learn more in the Training Portal
Resources

As a home visitor who works closely with families, you're in an ideal position to ensure that young children are screened. Partner with the families you work with to explain why developmental screening is so important, introduce ASQ, and address their concerns and questions. Once parents complete ASQ questionnaires, score them in minutes and interpret the results. Then sit down with families to share the results, plan next steps, and give them strategies for nurturing their child's skills and development.
Learn more in the Training Portal
Resources

Because pediatricians are the professionals most likely to see a child on a regular basis, you're in the perfect position to promote children's healthy development and identify potential delays early. If your office doesn't have a screening program yet, plan one with the help of the resources on this site. As parents complete ASQ through your program, your role is to score the questionnaires, interpret results, and sit down with families to share what you learned and plan next steps. In between screenings, give families learning activities and other resources to foster their child's skills and development.

Resources

You may not be a child development specialist, but you are the expert on your child-and research has shown that parents' concerns are accurate predictors of developmental delays. Talk to an early childhood professional about the benefits of developmental screening, and complete the ASQ questionnaire that's right for your child's age (they're easy to do and take just 10-15 minutes). When your child's pediatrician or teacher shares ASQ results with you, celebrate the milestones your child has reached and ask what you can do next to support your child's skills and healthy development.

Resources

Over 1 million children screened with ASQ

Trusted by professionals for 20 years

Quick and easy for parents to complete

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Uncover the knowledge to change a life with Ages & Stages Questionnaires® (ASQ).

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The roadmap for the ECMHC to SST Partnership!

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Here you will find strategies for making meaningful connections with families.

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This section will provide links to local supports in our region that support social emotional wellbeing for children, families, and educators.

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Find links here to better understand and support resiliency in young children.

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The Devereux Center for Resilient Children (DCRC) focuses on resilience building and social and emotional development. Our team's partnership with you - the adults caring for young children - is incredibly important to us, so we've cultivated all of our resources that are available to you at no cost, and placed them right here.

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Are you struggling with Children with big emotions. . . Overwhelmed administrators. . . Teachers burning out. . . Students feeling unsafe. . . Teachers

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Devereux Early Childhood Assessment: Enhancing Social and Emotional Development

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Devereux Early Childhood Assessment: Enhancing Social and Emotional Development

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DECA Infant and Toddler Record Forms
Designed for use with children one month through 36 months, the assessment forms are strength-based, nationally standardized, reliable, valid and easy to use. The Infant form is approrpriate for children one to 18 months, and the Toddler form is appropriate for children 18-36 months. Both are available in English and Spanish in both the paper and web-based formats. See sample assessment items, as well as a sample Individual Profile, to understand the vital information provided by this assessment tool at the bottom of this page.

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Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA) Infant And Toddler Program

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DECA Infant and Toddler Record Forms Designed for use with children one month through 36 months, the assessment forms are strength-based, nationally standardized, reliable, valid and easy to use. The Infant form is approrpriate for children one to 18 months, and the Toddler form is appropriate for children 18-36 months.

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Teach Kids to Manage Big Feelings Through Effective Social Emotional Learning

Over 80% of U.S. public schools reported in 2022 on the negative impact of the pandemic on child well-being and self-regulation. Kids are:

Struggling to manage their feelings and mental health

More disruptive in the classroom

Needing additional social, emotional, and behavioral support

(source: National Center for Education Statistics)

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The Zones of Regulation is a complete social-emotional learning curriculum, created to teach children self-regulation and emotional control.

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FLIP IT® is a strategy that offers a simple, kind, strength-based, commonsense and effective four step process to address children's day to day challenging behavior. The four steps are embodied in the FLIP mnemonic which stands for F - Feelings, L - Limits, I - Inquiries and P - Prompts. FLIP IT is nothing new, but transforms best practice into a strategy that is easy to remember, applicable in a variety of challenging situations and portable.

Check out the following video to hear from the author, Rachel Wagner!

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FLIP IT | Strategy for Challenging Behavior

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DCRC's award-winning FLIP IT strategy uses strength-based processes to address challenging behaviors in children. Learn more about FLIP IT today!

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Help That Works! The Lake County ADAMHS Board

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We are responsible for evaluating, planning, funding and monitoring Lake County's mental health and addiction recovery services.

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Ohio ECMHC in SST Manual--FY23 Edition.pdf

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Open office hours with Angie Gibbs every Tuesday from 3-4.

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Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, conference, huddle, and training rooms, as well as executive offices and classrooms. Founded in 2011, Zoom helps businesses and organizations bring their teams together in a frictionless environment to get more done.

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Socially Strong, Emotionally Secure: 50 Activities to Promote Resilience in Young Children

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Socially Strong, Emotionally Secure: 50 Activities to Promote Resilience in Young Children

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Socially Strong, Emotionally Secure: 50 Activities to Promote Resilience in Young Children

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Now more than ever, adults must help children develop the skills necessary to navigate successfully through life. By focusing on building social and emotional strength, adults increase children's resilience and prepare them to handle the challenges in life. The strategies and activities in Social...

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Stress and anxiety are often the biggest obstacles when it comes to important moments in our lives. While situations such as receiving a promotion at work, taking final exams, going on a flight, and performing in a sports competition can be exciting and positive experiences, without proper stress management, the fear of failure and need for success can have a negative impact on not only the results, but our long-term health.

That's where the 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique comes in, as it is designed to ease your state of mind so that you can get through stressful moments. The goal with this exercise is to use the five senses to focus on the moment and avoid multiple anxious thoughts that can get in the way of your progress.

Deep, slow, and long breaths are your first priority for achieving a calm state before proceeding to the following steps:

5. SEE: Acknowledge five things that you can see around you. Options can range from a pen or stapler at your office to a bird or tree while you're out at the local park. If you're at home, you can look at a family photo on the wall or a glass of water on the kitchen counter. You can pick between big and small items to keep your options open.

4. TOUCH: Acknowledge four things that you can touch around you. You can start with your hair, hands, elbows, and other parts of your body if you're short on time. The ground beneath your feet, whether it's the floor of your bedroom or the office at work, also helps. Pillows, desks, phones, and keyboards can fit this step.

3. HEAR: Acknowledge three things you can hear around you. Instead of listening to your own thoughts or sounds from your body like your stomach growling, focus on external noises. Examples include someone driving a car nearby, a clock ticking, or a dog barking. If you're at work, you can listen to typing and the steps of people walking by your desk.

2. SMELL: Acknowledge two things around you that you can smell. This step may be a challenge compared to the others, so it's best to go to a place with more sources of scent if you don't smell anything wherever you are at the moment. The outdoors has plenty of options for smells, and the soap in bathrooms also helps. Your furniture can provide pleasant smells for this step when you're home.

1. TASTE: Acknowledge one thing around you that you can taste. It doesn't necessarily have to be food, as toothpaste and minty floss you use in the morning or at night are easy sources. You can also go with the cinnamon-raisin oatmeal you have for breakfast, the sandwich and chips you have for lunch, or the pasta primavera you have for dinner. Coffee, tea, and other drinks you have to get through the day also work.

End this exercise with a long, deep breath.

With these steps, you will be able to get the most out of the moment. Focusing on your senses will help you be more mindful, which will then help you accomplish your tasks and experience success. As a result, you can defeat your anxiety and feel in control of your life. Put this technique into practice to so that you can improve your health and make those big days fun!

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Unwind this Monday with the 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique

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The goal of the 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique is to use the five senses to focus on the moment and avoid multiple anxious thoughts.

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Free personality test - take it to find out why our readers say that this personality test is so accurate, "it's a little bit creepy." No registration required!

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Professional Quality of Life Measure for Caregivers

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Professional Quality of Life Measure for Caregivers

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Video: Simple ways to make a difference in a child's day. 

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Video: Simple ways to make a difference in a child's day. 

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Ohio's Statewide Family Engagement Center

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In this webinar, "Dr. Winters and Dr. Li provide an overview of the Simple Interactions work as a response to Fred Rogers' question to the early childhood profession: "Did you ever wonder if you have made a difference?" This free webinar is generously hosted and shared without charge by the wonderful hosts at Early Childhood Investigations, where you may find many more free, accessible webinars for early childhood professionals. In the fall of 2019, Simple Interactions was selected as one of the 12 best educational innovations in Pittsburgh by the international organization HundrED. HundrED featured Simple Interactions in their HundrED Spotlight to help educators from around the world learn what is happening here in Pittsburgh and replicate it in their own contexts."

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Video: The Importance of Simple, Everyday Interactions from The Fred Rogers Center - Ohio's Statewide Family Engagement Center

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In this webinar, "Dr. Winters and Dr. Li provide an overview of the Simple Interactions work as a response to Fred Rogers' question to the early childhood profession: "Did you ever wonder if you have made a difference?"

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On Our Sleeves: Promoting ways to enhance the Mental Health in America's youth

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On Our Sleeves: Promoting ways to enhance the Mental Health in America's youth

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The Movement for Children's Mental Health

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Social media has benefits and risks to children's mental health. You can help children by starting conversations around social media, helping them navigate it and educating them on how to stay safe online with our resources.

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The Movement for Children's Mental Health

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On Our Sleeves is the national movement for children's mental health. Our mission is to give free expert-created resources to all U.S. communities so everyone can understand and promote mental health for children.

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Ohio's Statewide Family Engagement Center

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Triple P, or "Positive Parenting Program," is a free online program for parents and caregivers in Ohio with children and young adults. It is very easy and fast to enroll. The course gives parents and caregivers ideas you can use to:

Help your children reach their potential

Support your children to manage challenges

Promote your child/teenager's emotional well-being

Make family life more enjoyable for everyone with ideas for routines and rules

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Free Online Positive Parenting Program for Ohio Families (Triple P) - Ohio's Statewide Family Engagement Center

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Triple P, or "Positive Parenting Program," is a free online program for parents and caregivers in Ohio with children and young adults. It is very easy and fast to enroll.

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5-Minute Meditation You Can Do Anywhere | Goodful

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What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing

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What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing

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What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing

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What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing [Winfrey, Oprah, Perry, Bruce D.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing

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The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind

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The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind

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The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind

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The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind [Siegel, Daniel J., Bryson, Tina Payne] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind

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Ordinary Magic: Resilience in Development

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Ordinary Magic: Resilience in Development

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From a pioneering researcher, this book synthesizes the best current knowledge on resilience in children and adolescents. Ann S. Masten explores what allows certain individuals to thrive and adapt despite adverse circumstances, such as poverty, chronic family problems, or exposure to trauma. Coverage encompasses the neurobiology of resilience as well as the role of major contexts of development: families, schools, and culture. Identifying key protective factors in early childhood and beyond, Masten provides a cogent framework for designing programs to promote resilience. Complex concepts are carefully defined and illustrated with real-world examples.

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Ordinary Magic: Resilience in Development

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From a pioneering researcher, this book synthesizes the best current knowledge on resilience in children and adolescents. Ann S. Masten explores what allows certain individuals to thrive and adapt despite adverse circumstances, such as poverty, chronic family problems, or exposure to trauma. Cove...

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Building Your Bounce: Simple Strategies for a Resilient You, 2nd Edition

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Building Your Bounce: Simple Strategies for a Resilient You, 2nd Edition

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Building Your Bounce: Simple Strategies for a Resilient You, 2nd Edition

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The collection of simple strategies helps adults build their own resilience. Full of reflection opportunities, it includes a survey that offers caregivers and parents a tool to monitor their personal social and emotional health.

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The Importance of Self-Regulation in the Classroom | Kaplan Early Learning Company

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Self-regulation helps children and adults to engage in behavior that is mindful, deliberate, and considerate to those around them. This concept is important for children to recognize their emotions and know how to regulate them in different situations.

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Blog: Make a change that can improve the quality of the care they provide for children: take time for self-care.

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Blog: Make a change that can improve the quality of the care they provide for children: take time for self-care.

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In this blog, Susan Damico, Director at the Devereux Center for Resilient Children, challenges educators and caregivers to make a change that can improve the quality of the care they provide for children: take time for self-care.

It is hard to believe that it is has been over a year since we first heard the term "COVID-19." While each and every one of us has had our own personal struggles during this time, it is safe to say that all of us have been negatively impacted in one way or another. Being able to bounce back from this adversity - a process called resilience - is something that we all need to understand.

Well, I have some good news (and aren't we all looking for some good news these days?) about the science behind resilience, and what it means for each and every one of us. Resilience is not unique or made up of some set of extraordinary skills that only a few lucky people possess. Rather, a growing body of evidence suggests that the ability to recover from adversities, including a global pandemic, is accessible to all of us. So, how do we go about strengthening our resilience?

One of the most important first steps, especially now as we continue to grapple with isolation and the incredible disruptions from COVID-19, is to seek help if we need it. Asking for help - whether from a neighbor for help with something around the yard; a family member for assistance with chores around the house; a colleague for a work task that's due; or a mental health professional for help with feelings of sadness and anxiety - is a sign of strength and resilience.

During a recent PBS interview with Jack Shonkoff, M.D, Director of Harvard University's Center on the Developing Child, Shonkoff said that the most important step adults can take right now for their children is to prioritize their own health. He used the example of an oxygen mask on an airplane. Parents are instructed to put their own masks on first, not because they are more important than their children, but because they can't help their children if they don't first take care of themselves.

Another important step in a personal resilience-building journey is to work on being kinder to ourselves. That's right - be easy on yourself. Research shows that healthy self-compassion increases our resilience to setbacks. According to Kristin Neff, Ph.D., practicing self-compassion is an important step in our resilience journey, and will support our overall ability to excel at work and in every aspect of life. Nefertiti B. Poyner, Ed.D., from the Devereux Center for Resilient Children, took this message of self-compassion and created a YouTube limited series to highlight just how we can go about this step. I encourage you to watch this series and gain perspective on the importance of loving yourself!

Resilience is a life-long journey. These two important first steps are just that . . . first steps. It is never too early to start our resilience journey and it is never too late either. Every single day offers us an opportunity to recommit to the decision to practice self-care, self-love, and stay on the path of resilience.

About the Author

Susan Damico is a former Legislative Assistant and current Director of the Devereux Center for Resilient Children where she manages and coordinates all elements of the center. She graduated from Bucknell University and received her Master's degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago.

More from this Author

Mental Health Effects of COVID-19 on Educators
Mental Health Effects of COVID-19 on Families
Mental Health Effects of COVID-19 on Children

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Building Resilience and Recovery | Kaplan Early Learning Company

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In this blog, Susan Damico, Director at the Devereux Center for Resilient Children, challenges educators and caregivers to make a change that can improve the quality of the care they provide for children: take time for self-care. It is hard to believe that it is has been over a year since we first heard the term "COVID-19."

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Meeting Social-Emotional Needs in the Classroom

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Meeting Social-Emotional Needs in the Classroom

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One of the best ways you can meet the social-emotional needs of children as an educator is to help them develop the social and emotional skills they need to be resilient. Children who know how to overcome obstacles and adjust to changes in their lives often get along with others and develop other important social-emotional skills. Resilience is important for children because it gives them emotional stability in unknown situations and helps them develop skills necessary to be successful in life. The book Socially Strong, Emotionally Secure discusses several ways in which you can nurture children's strength and confidence to help them build resilience:

1. Carry out supportive interaction strategies.

Supportive interactions are the foundation for building strong, healthy relationships with children. Intentionality is a key part to having an effective interaction strategy, however. The ways in which you interact with children should be well thought out and planned in advance. Intentional planning can help prevent challenging behaviors and promote children's social-emotional development. Here are a few simple ways you can have supportive interactions with children:

Listen attentively to children by leaning forward, making eye contact, and asking questions about what they are telling you.

A simple smile or thumbs up can show children that you care while also comforting and reassuring students.

Let children know that you are happy to be their teacher by sending a note when they are sick, celebrating birthdays in the classroom, having casual conversations with them, and commenting on small changes in their appearance (e.g., a new haircut, a new shirt, or a new backpack).

2. Foster supportive relationships between school and home.

Teachers and families should be partners in helping children succeed. Home-school connections and family engagement both play a major role in helping children develop the skills they need to be positive members of the community. In addition to caring for and educating children, you should think of your role as an early childhood educator as helping families get off to the right start with their child's education and development. Here are three ways you can build children's resilience and foster supportive relationships between home and school:

Make an effort to learn about and respect the family and culture of the people important in your students' lives.

Establish ways you can communicate and exchange information with families.

Use a variety of strategies and family engagement events to ensure that families are involved in their children's education.

3. Provide activities and experiences that give children opportunities to learn social-emotional skills.

Playing while learning should be an emphasis in any early childhood classroom, because meaningful play is one of the best ways for children to learn and develop social-emotional skills. Resilience can also be taught through meaningful play. Here are a few activities and experiences that can help you promote resilience in the classroom:

Help children build language and communication skills by asking them open-ended questions throughout the day.

Encourage children to be kind to one another and learn about feelings by reading books and singing songs about emotions.

Teach children relaxation techniques and other appropriate ways to reduce stress and calm down.

4. Have a predictable, yet flexible daily routine with carefully planned transitions.

You can avoid difficult transitions for children by planning and organizing your daily routine to help them feel secure. Remember that young children don't really understand concepts of time. You can help them learn about time and how to adapt to situations by having a predictable, yet flexible routine. Incorporate the following three ideas in your classroom to build resilience through daily routines and transitions:

Involve children in carrying out routines and transitions by asking them to do things such as be a line leader for the week.

Teach children how to take care of themselves by providing them with supplies to use for personal care and cleanup.

Ensure that children do not feel rushed by planning enough time for activities and routines.

5. Design spaces to create learning environments that contribute to children's overall development and well-being.

Young children are very sensitive to their environment, so it's important for you to create a learning environment that is engaging and comforting to children. Be sure to take into account the likes, dislikes, and cultures of all the children in your care. If children feel comfortable in their environment, they're more likely to learn and develop the skills they need to succeed in life. The authors of Socially Strong, Emotionally Secure recommend that you keep the following goals in mind when thinking about your environment:

Your space should make children feel welcome and safe.

Self-directed play and imagination should be promoted in the space.

The arrangement of the space should allow children to be away from others when needed.

For additional tips and a variety of resilience-related activities, check out Socially Strong, Emotionally Secure and our other social-emotional resources.

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Meeting Children's Social-Emotional Needs | Kaplan Early Learning Company

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One of the best ways you can meet the social-emotional needs of children as an educator is to help them develop the social and emotional skills they need to be resilient. Children who know how to overcome obstacles and adjust to changes in their lives often get along with others and develop other important social-emotional skills.

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Drop any questions you have, or resources you are interested in seeing!

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Ohio Approved OCCRRA Trainings on the Topic of Childhood Trauma

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Trauma-Informed, Resilience-Oriented Schools Toolkit - National Center for School Safety

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A toolkit outlining a framework for implementing Trauma-Informed, Resilience-Oriented (TR) approaches in schools and school districts.

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Article: Characteristics of Traumatized Children

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Article: Characteristics of Traumatized Children

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One of your primary responsibilities as an educator is to keep children safe, but the reality is that not every child has a safe, warm, and loving home environment to go to at the end of the day. Children may experience physical or emotional abuse, neglect, abandonment, or some other traumatizing event. Understanding the characteristics of traumatized children and learning how you can spot children who are in negative situations and need help is an important component of making sure children are in safe environments at home and in school. In her book Reaching and Teaching Children Exposed to Trauma, Barbara Sorrels, EdD, outlines the following characteristics of traumatized children.

Infants

1. Difficult to Soothe - If infants were exposed to substances or toxic stress in utero, they may be chronically fussy and difficult to comfort.

2. Feeding Issues - Stress often has a strong effect on digestion, so infants may chronically spit up or have gas or constipation issues.

3. Resistant to Touch - Prenatal insult, early medical trauma, prematurity, early neglect, and abuse are all factors that may cause an infant to resist being held. Babies may arch their backs or refuse to mold to the caregiver's body when being held. They'll often try to wiggle out of the arms of the adult and may loudly protest.

4. Lack of Play - Infants typically become very playful at around four months of age, and they'll begin to issue invitations for interactions with caregivers. However, traumatized and neglected infants often show little interest and ability to engage in playful interactions with adults.

Toddlers

1. Language Delay - A significant delay in language development is a strong indicator of trauma and neglect. Infants learn to communicate out of a natural drive to interact and connect with the people who love and care for them. Maltreated infants and toddlers often have little experience with reading, singing, nursery rhymes, chants, and games.

2. Alternatively Fearful and Aggressive - Toddlers who have experienced trauma have frequent temper tantrums, and their behavior can be highly contradictory and extreme. For example, they will often hit and bite other children even without provocation.

3. Withdrawal - While some maltreated children are aggressive, others will be withdrawn. They'll rarely interact with others, and they may sit quietly and stare into space. Keep in mind that some children are just slow to warm up by nature, but maltreated children never warm up and are consistently withdrawn or actively resist interaction.

4. Refusal to Be Comforted When Hurt - Toddlers who have experienced trauma and abuse often resist efforts by adults to comfort them when they fall down. They will often to turn to things for comfort rather than people.

Three- to Five-Year-Olds

1. Precocious Self-Care - Maltreated children often do things that typically developing children don't do yet, but they often struggle with things that are typical for their age. For example, a child may be able to prepare a bottle for his or her baby sister but not be able to use scissors yet.

2. Gorges or Hoards Food - Children who experience starvation in utero or during the first years of life are likely to gorge to the point of throwing up or hoard food to save for later. They may even take food out of other children's lunches or backpacks as a survival mechanism.

3. Difficulty with Transitions - Children who have experienced trauma tend to be more rigid and inflexible in their behavior. Transitions often cause children to be defiant, aggressive, and anxious.

4. Hypervigilant - Maltreated children are often hypersensitive to their surroundings and notice any threat to their physical or emotional well-being. This often makes it difficult for them to settle down and focus because they can't tune the unimportant things out.

For additional characteristics of traumatized children and tips and resources you can use to help them in the classroom, be sure to read Reaching and Teaching Children Exposed to Trauma. We also have a variety of helpful materials and resources available in the Social and Emotional section of our website.

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Understanding the Characteristics of Traumatized Children | Kaplan Early Learning Company

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Learn about some of the characteristics traumatized infants, toddlers, and preschoolers display in this resource article from Kaplan Early Learning Company.

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Social-Emotional Strategies for Circle Time

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Social-Emotional Strategies for Circle Time

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Circle time is an important part of the daily routines in an early childhood classroom, and it's one of the best places to work on social and emotional learning. "Perhaps more than any other part of your day, your circle is the place for building community and collectively expressing thoughts and feelings. It takes a number of social skills to be able to just sit, listen, and take turns in a group, making circle time the perfect place to get started for the day," states Ellen Booth Church in Getting to the Heart of Learning. She also provides the following tips on what you need to consider as you work on using circle time to support social and emotional learning:
Focus on Emotions
Since children can often talk about a book character's feelings better than their own, make an effort to read books that depict characters who are experiencing a certain emotion, such as anger, jealousy, or sadness, during circle time. Ask children how the character is feeling, how they know that is what he/she is feeling, and if they have ever felt the same way. This encourages children to increase their vocabulary of emotions, which will allow them to learn how to better express/describe their own emotions. Church suggests that you should focus on one emotion word a week and use literature, songs, and examples to keep the conversation about the emotion going.
Focus on Social Skills
By choosing a social-emotional skill word to highlight in your classroom each week, you can use group time to reinforce the vocabulary and concept. Church's example in the book is the word "listen". Children will feel more welcome in a group if they feel like they are being listened to. Learning to listen is also an important part of social and emotional development and will help you have a good circle time. Asking children to remember and share what they have heard someone say is a great way to practice reflective listening. You can promote and model reflective listening during circle time by repeating what a child says and asking if you are correct.
Use Gerunds to Introduce Social-Emotional Concepts
Gerunds are verbal nouns that end in -ing (e.g., walking, talking, running, etc.). Using gerunds to give simple directions can help children remember what they are supposed to be doing. Church gives the example of saying "looking" or "listening" when children are not looking at you or listening. "The one simple word is easy for children to hear and respond to, is empowering, and builds vocabulary. Plus, a gerund is a positive reminder instead of a big no or do not," states Church.

Be sure to browse our Social and Emotional section for a variety of materials you can utilize in your classroom to support social and emotional learning and development.

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Using Circle Time to Support Social and Emotional Learning | Kaplan Early Learning Company

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Circle time is an important part of the daily routines in an early childhood classroom, and it's one of the best places to work on social and emotional learning. "Perhaps more than any other part of your day, your circle is the place for building community and collectively expressing thoughts and feelings.

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Early Head Start (EHS)/Head Start (HS)

CHILDREN
Home visiting for pregnant women and families with children (birth to age five) on topics including child development, parenting, and school readiness.

Ohio Early Intervention

CHILDREN

Provides developmental evaluation and service coordination for families of children zero to three years of age who have developmental concerns or identified disabilities.

Diagnostic Assessment

CHILDREN

Mental health assessment for children from birth to age six. We also provide consultation for children between birth and three.

Early Childhood Mental Health

CHILDREN

Consultation and treatment for young children and their families including individual, family, and group sessions to promote healthy social and emotional needs.

Parent Time Out Respite

CHILDREN

Short-term respite services for families with young children.

Whole Child Matters Initiative

CHILDREN

Provides Early Childhood Mental Health Consultants who team with early childhood providers and families in and out of the classroom to assist with effective responses to disruptive behaviors. This service is offered in both Lake and Ashtabula Counties.

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Early Childhood Services - Crossroads Health

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Early Childhood Services Early Head Start (EHS)/Head Start (HS) CHILDREN Home visiting for pregnant women and families with children (birth to age five) on topics including child development, parenting, and school readiness.

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Article: Ideas, activities, strategies and resources that promote resilience and social and emotional health in preschool-age children.

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Article: Ideas, activities, strategies and resources that promote resilience and social and emotional health in preschool-age children.

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Preschool | Family Resources | Center for Resilient Children

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The Devereux Center for Resilient Children (DCRC) is committed to promoting partnerships between the most important adults in a child's life - parents, family members, as well as early care and education professionals, such as child care providers, teachers and home visitors.

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Addressing Behavioral Concerns through a Mental Health Lens

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Addressing Behavioral Concerns through a Mental Health Lens

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Prevention Techniques to Address Challenging Behaviors in the Classroom

Whether a child hits others, uses inappropriate language, or throws a tantrum, all educators have to address challenging behaviors in the classroom. Social-emotional learning and self-regulation tools help teach children about resilience and how to appropriately manage their behavior and emotions, but those resources may not be enough to effectively address the challenging behavior.

Prevention should also be an area of focus in your classroom management plan when you need to address challenging behaviors or any other classroom issues. There are a number of prevention techniques that you can incorporate in your classroom to decrease opportunities for inappropriate behaviors. In his book When Nothing Else Works, Dr. William DeMeo discusses the following prevention techniques:

1. Encourage active learning in the classroom to provide children with fewer opportunities to engage in challenging behaviors.

DeMeo describes active learning as '...fast-paced, fun, supportive, and personally engaging. Often, children are out of their seats, moving about and thinking out loud.' Children learn best when they are actively learning, and their participation in active learning means that children have fewer opportunities to behave inappropriately.

To integrate active learning in your classroom, you should incorporate the concepts children are learning into activities and learning centers. This allows children to have choices in what they are learning and participate in more self-initiated activities. Active learning will also provide an enjoyable and engaging learning environment for children.

2. Increase awareness and responsiveness by adopting a MIS (Moving, Interacting, and Scanning) supervision strategy.

Active supervision can help decrease challenging behaviors, increase child safety, and increase appropriate behaviors in the classroom. To incorporate active supervising in your classroom, learn these three behaviors that define active supervision:

Moving - In active supervising, you should constantly be walking around the classroom to ensure that your presence is known to children. Make a conscious effort to visit problem areas often and move around the classroom unpredictably, which means children won't know where or when you'll be in close range.

Interacting - Active supervision also requires interacting with children. You should teach children about any expectations you have of them and make an effort to talk to them informally. Interacting with your students will help you build a positive relationship with them while also giving you the opportunity to prevent challenging behaviors.

Scanning - Another behavior associated with active supervision is scanning, which means you should scan the classroom frequently to see what is happening and how children are behaving. Make sure you look for both appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. Scanning can give you plenty of opportunities to address challenging behavior as well as acknowledge appropriate behavior

3. Give children plenty of appropriate opportunities to move around and expend their energy to help prevent any behavioral problems from occurring.

Physical activity can help children (and adults) relieve stress, refocus their attention, and better enjoy learning. Incorporating physical movement in activities throughout the day is a great way to decrease challenging behaviors in the classroom. Remember that some children need movement in order to effectively process new information they are learning. Try to limit activities that may bore children (i.e., the activities that require children to sit or be still for long periods of time), and exchange those for activities that give children choices and opportunities to explore, practice skills, and figure out things by themselves.

For more information about these prevention techniques and how to address challenging behaviors in the classroom, read When Nothing Else Works by Dr. William DeMeo and check out our other challenging behavior resources.

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Addressing Challenging Behaviors | Kaplan Early Learning Company

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Whether a child hits others, uses inappropriate language, or throws a tantrum, all educators have to address challenging behaviors in the classroom. Social-emotional learning and self-regulation tools help teach children about resilience and how to appropriately manage their behavior and emotions, but those resources may not be enough to effectively address the challenging behavior.