Review

Resources and Referrals: The "Watch Me Grow!" handouts throughout the curriculum provide brief information on the importance of referring families with a child with a disability, suspected delay, or other special need to resources in the community (e.g., "Be prepared to share information about Part C services with the family."). The curriculum offers minimal guidance on how to identify resources in the community or how to go through a referral process. 

Learning Environment: The curriculum does not address the accessibility of the home environment or learning materials for a child with a disability, suspected delay, or other special need. 

Parenting Practices and Interventions: The curriculum does not address adaptations to routines or learning experiences for a child with a disability, suspected delay, or other special need.

Resources and Referrals: The curriculum's approach promotes building a system of support and the delivery of appropriate services. Baby TALK emphasizes the importance of providing resources and referring families to resources in the community. Guidance is included to discuss the potential need for referrals at each home visit (e.g., the Referrals Document keeps track of all referrals made by the home visitor to the parents; the Personal Encounter Documentation form includes the question of whether a referral is needed). However, the curriculum does not provide specific guidance for home visitors on how to identify resources or how to support families in referrals relevant to children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs. For example, the Developmental Perspectives for 12-month-olds recommends sharing developmental concerns with the pediatrician, and the pediatrician will "keep an eye on the concern to make sure it is addressed as quickly as possible." No further information is provided on specific services for children identified with a developmental delay (e.g., Early Intervention services under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)).

Learning Environment: The curriculum does not include clear suggestions for parents and families about how to set up an appropriate environment and materials to support the development and learning of their child with a disability, suspected delay, or other special need.

Parenting Practices and Interventions: The curriculum provides limited guidance on how home visitors and families can adapt learning experiences for a child with a disability or other special need. For example, in the Let's Talk Kids column, Special Kids, Regular Lives, families and home visitors are reminded that children with special needs are children first. Additionally, another column, When Kids Know Best, briefly mentions the issue of sensory overstimulation and the importance of supporting the child to avoid difficulty with concentration, stress and anxiety, and other significant challenges. Baby TALK lacks more specific strategies related to parenting practices and interventions to support children with special needs.

Resources and Referrals: The curriculum includes specific guidance on referring families who may have a child with a disability, suspected delay, or other special need to resources in the community. Various resources, such as "Communication Between Parents and Professionals" and "Developmental Delays and Disabilities," describe the process families will encounter when a child is referred for evaluation (either to a school district or healthcare provider). In addition, each resource in the series on different disabilities and disorders (e.g., language, speech, hearing, physical, cognitive, learning, and vision) describes the different referral/evaluation process for children who are referred for that specific developmental area. For example, for a language referral, a home visitor would reference the curriculum's milestones first, discuss them with parents, and then describe how a speech and language pathologist would complete a language and hearing evaluation.

Learning Environment: The curriculum includes limited guidance on ensuring the home environment and learning materials are accessible to children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs. The series of resources on different disabilities and disorders (e.g., language, speech, hearing, physical, cognitive, learning, and vision) discusses the importance of an accessible environment and offers a few tips (e.g., "Work with the family on ways they can modify and make adaptations to the environment to benefit their child. This may be as simple as rearranging furniture so a child can navigate the room more easily"). In addition, a few resources offer general suggestions on modifications to learning materials for children with disabilities, suspected delays, and other special needs (e.g., "Specialized aids and equipment, programs like Special Olympics, and playgrounds designed to be accessible to those with special needs can make a world of difference"). However, the guidance provided is minimal and only in a few places in the curriculum. The publisher offers a separate curriculum, Interactions Across Abilities: Supporting Families of Children with Special Needs, with more guidance on individualization for children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs.

Parenting Practices and Interventions: The curriculum includes specific guidance on adapting activities and routines for children with disabilities. Each resource in the series on different disabilities and disorders (e.g., language, speech, hearing, physical, cognitive, learning, and vision) provides tips and suggestions for parents to support children and modify routines. For example, "Language Disorders" provides a list of strategies for parents to support their child's language development and potential language delay (e.g., "Label! Provide words for all objects when children are around").

Resources and Referrals: Parents as Teachers provides specific guidance on referring families with a child with a disability, suspected delay, or other special need to resources in the community. "Difference and Delays in Development" describes the referral process in detail (e.g., gathering observations, screening, referring a child to a health care provider or early intervention system, eligibility for services determined by a "multi-transdisciplinary team"). It also discusses the importance of collaborating with other early intervention professionals if a child has an identified disability.

Learning Environment: The curriculum provides limited guidance on ensuring that the home environment and learning materials are accessible to children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs. "The Benefits of Activity Pages" briefly mentions the importance of appropriate materials for a child with a disability, but no guidance is provided on adapting the home learning environment within this curriculum. The publisher offers a separate curriculum, Interactions Across Abilities: Supporting Families of Children with Special Needs, with more guidance on individualization for children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs.

Parenting Practices and Interventions: Parents as Teachers offers general guidance on how to adapt the curriculum's learning experiences for a child with a disability, suspected delay, or other special need. "Supporting Learning in the Early Years" includes a section called "Adapting Activities" that provides strategies for how families can adapt activities to a child's developmental level (e.g., "parents might demonstrate different ways to do a new skill, offer other materials, or guide their child's hand or body so she feels successful"). However, many of the activities in the curriculum do not include specific adaptations for a child with a disability, suspected delay, or other special need. The publisher offers a separate curriculum, Interactions Across Abilities: Supporting Families of Children with Special Needs, with more guidance on individualization for children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs.

Resources and Referrals: The curriculum offers minimal guidance for home visitors to connect families of a child with a disability, suspected delay, or other special need to resources in the community. Growing Great Families mentions the importance of connecting families with resources in the community, if needed (e.g., Advice for home visitors: "You can best support parents by ... partnering with community-based agencies/early intervention services."). The curriculum does not provide specific guidance for home visitors on how to identify resources or how to support families in a referral process.

Learning Environment: Growing Great Families and the curriculum manual minimally address accessibility of the home environment or learning materials for a child with a disability, suspected delay, or other special need. The module "Unique Needs: Being a Parent of a Child with Special Needs" offers general suggestions for parents and mentions the importance of making a "home environment safe and developmentally rich" for children with unique needs.

Parenting Practices and Interventions: The curriculum offers minimal guidance in Growing Great Families and the curriculum manual on adapting routines and learning experiences for a child with a disability, suspected delay, or other special need. The modules "Unique Needs: Being a Parent of a Child with Special Needs" and "Including Children with Special Needs" briefly mention the importance of adapting activities in the curriculum (e.g., "We can find and adapt activities that your child's care team feels are important.") and provide one example. However, the suggestions are limited and contained only in these two modules.

Resources and Referrals: The curriculum offers minimal support for home visitors to connect families of a child with a disability, suspected delay, or other special need to resources in the community. In a few places in Growing Great Families, the curriculum mentions the importance of connecting families with resources in the community if needed (e.g., Advice for home visitors: "You can best support parents by ... partnering with community-based agencies/early intervention services."). However, it does not provide specific guidance for home visitors on how to identify resources or how to support families in a referral process.

Learning Environment: Growing Great Families very minimally addresses accessibility of the home environment or learning materials for a child with a disability, suspected delay, or other special need. The module "Unique Needs: Being a Parent of a Child with Special Needs" offers general suggestions for parents and mentions the importance of making a "home environment safe and developmentally rich" for children with unique needs.

Parenting Practices and Interventions: The curriculum offers minimal guidance in Growing Great Families on adapting routines and learning experiences for a child with a disability, suspected delay, or other special need. The module "Unique Needs: Being a Parent of a Child with Special Needs" includes a brief mention of the importance of adapting activities in the curriculum. The prompt says, "We can find and adapt activities that your child's care team feels are important," and provides one example. However, the information provided is vague and contained in the one section of the curriculum. Throughout the manuals, there is no information included on how specific activities can be adapted for a child with a disability, suspected delay, or other special need.