After decades of rapid evolution and groundbreaking research, the field of early intervention can be understood within a common framework: the Developmental Systems Approach (DSA). Created by a highly influential leader in the field, Michael Guralnick, this evidence-based, relationship-oriented, family-centered framework focuses on strengthening the quality of key family patterns of interaction that influence a child's development. The overall integration of developmental science, our knowledge of risk and disability, intervention science, and practice provides the structure for the DSA.

In this important volume, Guralnick organizes and analyzes the most current research and developments in early intervention through the lens of the DSA. Starting with a clear explanation of the foundations of early intervention, the book then applies the DSA to four vulnerable populations: children at risk due to biological factors, specifically preterm birth, children at environmental risk, children with developmental delays, and children with autism spectrum disorder. Readers will discover how the DSA can guide the development of effective services and supports for diverse young children and families, and they’ll come away with insights on how to use this framework to improve early intervention programs in their own communities. An invaluable reference for early childhood researchers, faculty, and policy makers, this forward-thinking book is the key to establishing inclusive community-based early intervention systems that nurture each family's strengths and promote child development.

READERS WILL:
Understand the developmental science that applies to all children

Learn how child development is influenced by three critical family patterns of interaction—parent–child transactions, family-orchestrated child experiences, and parent promotion of child health and safety

Explore the influence of family resources as well as child-specific risk and protective factors on a child’s health and development in the context of early intervention

Discover ways to select interventions that are most effective for children and families based on intervention science and the DSA conceptual framework

Learn the fundamentals of applying the DSA framework to designing and implementing inclusive community-based systems of early intervention