Family-Centered Early Intervention: Supporting Infants and Toddlers in Natural Environments

Dana C. Childress has worked in the field of early intervention for almost 20 years as an early childhood special educator, service coordinator, supervisor, professional development consultant and writer. She currently works as part of Virginia's early intervention professional development team developing resources, conducting web-based and in-person training, and managing the content for the Virginia Early Intervention Professional Development Centera s website (www.eidp.vcu.edu). She also writes and manages the Centera s Early Intervention Strategies for Success blog (www.veipd.org/earlyintervention). Dana's interests include family centered practices, autism spectrum disorders, supporting family implementation of intervention strategies, and finding ways to bridge the research to practice gap through interactive professional development for in-service early intervention practitioners. She regularly presents workshops in VA and has presented at state, national, and international conferences. She currently lives in Chesapeake, VA with her family. Sharon A. Raver, a professor of Special Education at Old Dominion University, has worked in the area of Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) for over 35 years. She has worked with infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school-aged children with special needs, and their families. She has administered programs, served as an international ECSE consultant, and published extensively. Her other books include: Early childhood special education (0-8 years): Strategies for positive outcomes (2009), Intervention strategies for infants and toddlers with special needs: A team approach (1999; 2nd ed.), and Strategies for teaching at-risk and handicapped infants and toddlers: A transdisciplinary approach (1991). She has been a Fulbright Scholar three times and received a number of awards for excellence in research and teaching. She currently lives in Norfolk, Virginia. "