Step Ahead at Age 3: A Guide for Families in Wisconsin [1999 Revised Edition]
Ann Hains
This booklet (revised in 1999) is designed for families to use in making decisions pertaining to their children with disabilities' transitions from Birth to Three services to Early Childhood Exceptional Education, Head Start, and other child care programs. Tips and checklists are provided for transition meetings, evaluation, multidisciplinary team meetings, Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings, and the process of putting the IEP into action, as well as general developmental checklists and tips on questions parents and children may have throughout the process of change into new programs and services.
Ann Hains. Step Ahead at Age 3: A Guide for Families in Wisconsin [1999 Revised Edition] (1999). Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services: Madison, WI.
(16 pages).
Sponsoring Agency: Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services and Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Language: English
Reading Level: Average
Formats Available: Printed Material
(Available at no charge to parents and at cost from the address below to other requesters)
Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services
Birth to Three Program
1 West Wilson Street
P.O. Box 7851
Madison, WI
53707
Phone: (608) 266-8276
Languages Available: English, Spanish
Intended User Audience:
The Step Ahead at Age 3 manual is written primarily for parents and family members, and it is also useful for service delivery personnel working in early intervention or early childhood special education settings and service coordinators (all disciplines).
There is no specific cultural or linguistic group identified. The intended audience is the families of Wisconsin.
Product Development:
The original document was developed by the Wisconsin Bridging Early Services Transition Project Planning Committee - a state-level committee which included lead agency representatives, program administrators, service providers and parents. A subcontract from an Early Education Program for Children with Disabilities (EEPCD) outreach grant awarded to the Associated Colleges of Central Kansas provided Wisconsin with initial funds to develop the manual. Additional funding and support was received from the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services and Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Administrators, parents, faculty/trainers, service delivery personnel, and state lead agency representative all participated in the development of the manual. The developers had European American backgrounds.
The 1999 revised edition added reviewers who were parents and service providers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The Early Childhood Research Institute on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services reviewed the material and provided feedback to the developers.
Product Evaluation:
Evaluation of the 1995 edition occurred at workshops given throughout the state of Wisconsin. Parents, service delivery personnel, and administrators who attended these workshops rated the usefulness of the materials. Evaluations were received from personnel representing the fields of early intervention and early childhood special education, occupational therapy, social work, physical therapy, and speech pathology. 92% of the evaluations were completed by European Americans, 5% by African Americans, 2% by persons from Hispanic/Latino backgrounds, and 1% by Native Americans. Evaluation results are available in the final report to OSEP.
The 1999 revised edition has not been field-tested; no formal evaluation data exit.
Product Dissemination:
Over 15,000 Step Ahead at Age 3 manuals have been disseminated. All parents in Birth to Three Programs in Wisconsin's 72 counties have received copies from 1995 to the present. Service coordinators use them in conjunction with families.
Review #1
About the reviewer:
The reviewer is originally from Laos. He left his home country for
Thailand in 1975 and spent many years in a refugee camp before
his resettlement in the United States. He earned a GED in 1980 and an
associate degree in electronic technology in 1988. Presently, he is
taking classes to further his formal education. He has been a parent advisor at PACER Center for 6 years, where he
provides advocacy for Southeast Asian families of children with and
without disabilities. He works to heighten families' involvement in
their children's education and to encourage families to actively
represent their children. He also provides consultation for local and
national children's programs so they can better serve Southeast
Asian families. He devotes himself to community and family services.
Additionally, he is the father of 7 children who have provided him
real-life experiences raising children. He also participates in
various community organizational advisory committees that directly
or indirectly serve families and children.
Audience:
The audience for this guide is primarily parents and family members. It is also useful for service delivery personnel working in an early intervention and early childhood special education setting, health care professionals, and non-profit or social service agency staff. It may also be used as a resource for college students in early childhood teaching programs. Although it was developed and intended for use with families from Wisconsin, it would definitely benefit all families and early childhood service delivery personnel throughout the United States.
Strengths of the Material:
This guide is designed to help families plan for their child's transition from early intervention services to early childhood special education services or other community services. It offers steps and helpful tips for parents, including ideas on planning ahead for transition, meaningful participation in the referral process, eligibility determination, individualized educational program development and implementation. It emphasizes parent rights in making decisions for their child throughout the transition process, which is reflective of recommended practice. It is written in a clear and comprehensible format with an average English language level that is easy to follow. It is responsive to cultural and linguistic diversity by including graphic representations of families from different cultural backgrounds. The guide acknowledges the family's cultural values and communication barriers that may impede their ongoing participation in their child's educational process. It gives tips for parents when they make their child's placement selection and encourages the use of interpreters for communication. The presentation of information is clear and reflective of recommended practices.
Limitations of the Material:
There is no significant limitation in any part of the guide.
Adaptations:
The reviewer highly recommends this guide to any families without any adaptations to the guide. It would enhance family ability to participate more fully in their child's transition if it were available in other languages such as Hmong. It would be helpful to Hmong families in Wisconsin and other states who are literate in their language but are dependent on an interpreter. It would facilitate their communication in such ways that they can read and gain the insight of this guide by themselves.
Generalizability:
This guide presents insightful steps to assist families in planning for their child at age three when s/he transitions from an early intervention program to an early childhood program. It provides parents information about their rights in the transition procedure and how they can actively participate. It is a valuable tool for the Southeast Asian families who are not familiar with the U.S. education system or who have a low level of comfort. It would help them plan and play an active role in their child's transition.
Recommendations:
The reviewer highly recommends this material. It is inviting to individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds and is reflective of current recommended practices.
Producer's Response:
This review is very positive. The comments target the changes that were made based on feedback from multiple reviewers across the nation and in Wisconsin. The CLAS Institute provided invaluable support for the revision. The Wisconsin planning team sought a formal review for developers from CLAS. As a result, many changes were made which are identified as positive features by this reviewer (e.g., photos, language, etc.).
The reviewer recommends translating the material into other languages such as Hmong. It would be wonderful to have it translated and modified for specific groups. Again, resources do not permit the manual to be translated into other languages at this time. I would welcome and encourage anyone who is interested in providing this service to contact me. Please note that the Spanish version of Step Ahead at Age 3 has not been revised (1995). Our planning team is seeking resources to update it.
Review #2
About the reviewer:
The reviewer has worked for the past three years as an early
intervention service coordinator in the New York City area. She has
worked directly with the birth to three population and their families
by coordinating evaluation, therapeutic, and support services. She
serves as the primary liaison between families and clinicians.
She holds a bachelor's in psychology from Douglass College, Rutgers
University.
Audience:
Step Ahead at Age 3 is primarily written for parents and family members who reside in Wisconsin and are currently receiving early intervention. The manual is intended to serve as a guide through the transition to special education preschool services. The manual is also useful for clinicians in all disciplines, including service coordinators and administrators, who work with the 0-3 and 3-5 population. There is no specific cultural or linguistic group identified throughout the manual. However, it was noted that this manual is available in Spanish as well as English.
Strengths of the Material:
The strengths of the manual include the breakdown of the process of transitioning a child from an early intervention program to an early childhood special education agency, Head Start program, or other appropriate community service. The manual is intended to assist parents in making decisions for their child as they make this transition. Information is provided throughout the manual, which relates to transition meetings, evaluations, and team meetings to discuss results and formulate the IEP, and implementation of the IEP once it is finalized.
Included in the manual is an activity checklist which parents and family members can utilize to help them keep track of the necessary steps that need to be accomplished throughout the transition process. In addition, a form is provided to help parents remember important dates. Finally, a page in the manual is dedicated to explaining parental rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Additional sources are also listed with phone numbers to provide information about parental rights.
Limitations of the Material:
It appears that although the manual is parent-friendly as it attempts to guide families through the transition process, it is generic with respect to culture and linguistic diversity among the early childhood population, families and community. It does not include cultural issues or practices at the family level that may be relevant with regards to a smooth transition into the preschool special education system, Head Start program, or other appropriate child care setting. It does appear that the developer made an attempt at including different groups by displaying family photographs of diverse cultures within the manual. However, this alone does not make the parent handbook culturally and linguistically appropriate for the intended population.
Although it was noted that translators are made available if the parent deems it necessary, it would be more appropriate to always have a translator present throughout all phases of the transition process to ensure that correct data is being collected. This would allow for the parent, family members and child to communicate in their dominant language and provide necessary information that might otherwise be left out or misinterpreted due to possible language or cultural barriers.
There is no mention of support systems that may be available to ease the accomplishment of the transition process, i.e., transportation, social work services or babysitting services for siblings. Finally, the manual is only available in English and Spanish. It would be necessary to have the manual published in various languages in order to accommodate the needs of all of the target populations and help to ensure smooth transitions.
Adaptations:
The manual would be useful for parents and family members in any community in order to facilitate the transition of children from an early intervention program to a preschool special education system, Head Start program, or other appropriate child care setting. However, in order for the manual to be culturally and linguistically sensitive to the needs of the community, adaptations should be considered to accommodate for the diversity of the intended population.
The user should consider including a sheet discussing issues of diverse family structures, language dominance, and cultural sensitivity that may impact upon and affect the transition process for this population. Translators should always be present throughout each phase to prevent misinterpretations and incorrect data collection. Most importantly, if resources are available, the manual should be made available by the user in various languages in order to accommodate the needs of the target population.
Generalizability:
This manual would be useful for service coordinators, administrators and clinicians in all disciplines of early intervention and preschool special education to use as a general guide with respect to the transition process. It would be appropriate to use this manual as the beginning template for a more complete parent handbook that includes issues of culture and linguistic diversity among the target population and accommodates the needs of these children and families.
Recommendations:
The manual should include more information pertinent to language and cultural diversity in order to meet the needs of the target populations. Given the overall format of the handbook, it would be recommended with the noted adaptations.
Producer's Response:
The reviewer is correct in noting that the material is generic with respect to cultural and linguistic diversity, translators should be included at all interactions, and support systems and resources should be available. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is sponsoring state-wide trainings so that cultural and linguistic considerations are included at the family level. The goal is to help teams gain information on how they can tailor it appropriately for the populations that they serve. The trainings include parent co-presenters and persons who represent cultural and linguistic diversity. The issues identified by the reviewer are discussed at the trainings.
Resources do not permit the manual to be translated into other languages at this time. I would welcome and encourage anyone who is interested in providing this service to contact me. Please note that the Spanish version of Step Ahead at Age 3 has not been revised. Our planning team is seeking resources to update it.
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