At twenty-nine months, my son Jackson had met all of his developmental milestones. He spoke in full sentences, knew his ABCs and colors, had well-developed fine and gross motor skills, was affectionate, had perfect eye contact, loved to talk, and was extremely social. Six months later, just after Jackson’s third birthday, neurologists couldn’t rule out that he might have a malignant form of epilepsy, some form of neurodegenerative disorder, have regressive encephalopathy, be autistic, or have a pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). What could possibly have caused the regression he experienced over a four-month period, the irritability he was exhibiting, the sixty to eighty seizures he was enduring each day, and the autistic-like behaviors he had developed? Although I’m not a physician and don’t work in the healthcare profession, I have lived through the regression and recovery of my own child. This experience has led me to form the opinion that, potentially, too many children are being put on the autism spectrum. Some children, like Jackson, with ASD-like symptoms are not autistic and therefore are not receiving the full breadth of intervention that could potentially help them recover. Do I have proof of this? No, because from my experience, and up until this point, there has not been enough research that the medical profession recognizes as reliable made available to the public or to parents like me to identify the root cause of some symptoms. The purpose of my telling this story is not to give anyone, or any family, false hope but, with good reason, to encourage you to leave no stone unturned in treating a medically complex child. It takes passionate determination and tenacity to find underlying and seemingly hidden causes of complex illnesses and to see the journey through to recovery when possible.

Solve toddler challenges with eight key mindshifts that will help you parent with clarity, calmness, and self-control. In Why is My Child in Charge?, Claire Lerner shows how making critical mindshifts—seeing children’s behaviors through a new lens —empowers parents to solve their most vexing childrearing challenges. Using real life stories, Lerner unpacks the individualized process she guides parents through to settle common challenges, such as throwing tantrums in public, delaying bedtime for hours, refusing to participate in family mealtimes, and resisting potty training. Lerner then provides readers with a roadmap for how to recognize the root cause of their child’s behavior and how to create and implement an action plan tailored to the unique needs of each child and family. Why is My Child in Charge? is like having a child development specialist in your home. It shows how parents can develop proven, practical strategies that translate into adaptable, happy kids and calm, connected, in-control parents.

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

In this rhyming story, Kiara learns how to keep going even when things get too hard. Through colorful illustrations and rhythmic rhymes, Kiara reflects on her mistakes and realizes that mistakes help her grow. Instead of avoiding them, she learns from them so she can improve. Do you want your child to learn about perseverance and diligence? Your child will learn how easy it is to get back up after failing. "I Choose to Try Again" is a story with social emotional learning (SEL) in mind. It has been praised by teachers and therapists worldwide. This story told from Kiara's point of view will help open your child's mind to what it feels like to fail, and then try again. Kiara will teach your child how to be mentally strong. With Kiara in real life examples, your child will learn to develop their understanding of their own emotions. Throughout the story, Kiara will show you what perseverance looks like. Teacher and Therapist Toolbox: I Choose is an empowering series curated to empower young children to become aware of big emotions. A new book series developed in tandem with teachers and therapists to help children cope with a range of emotions and teach them that they indeed hold the power to choose their actions and reactions. Try not to say 'never.'. That brainwashes you to fail. It means that you won't have the chance To raise the victory sail. "I Choose to Try Again" was developed alongside counselors and parents to be used as a resource in a social emotional curriculum.

The Essential Guide to Raising Complex Kids is an honest guide on how to be an effective parent and when raising children with ADHD, anxiety, and other complex conditions--and how to guide them on a path to a healthy, happy, well-adjusted life. A wake-up call, a clear guide for action, and a message of inspiration, this book provides a reality-based recipe for how to do a masterful job of raising complex kids, while not making yourself (or your family) crazy in the process. ADHD parenting expert Elaine Taylor-Klaus, founder and CEO of ImpactADHD.com, will walk you through her proven coach-approachmethod, which shows all parents, in simple steps, how to identify challenge areas and how to use critical response toolsto parent simply, clearly, and effectively—for everyone’s benefit. It doesn’t much matter if your child has ADHD, or anxiety, or learning disabilities, or sensory processing, or ODD, or autism, or depression, or separation disorder—or celiac disease or food allergies, for that matter. All that really matters is this: your child is complex because there is a chronic medical condition (or several) that he, or she, or they need to learn to manage for themselves in order to be successful in life. A coach approach will help you communicate, collaborate, and guide your kids on their path to independence. Here are some of the challenge areas addressed inside, and the coach-approach method for working through them. Challenge: Feeling Like You've Tried Everything --> Coach-Approach: Letting Go Challenge: Fearing for the Future --> Coach-Approach: Parenting from Inspiration, Not Desperation Challenge: An Unhappy Home --> Coach-Approach: No One Gets to Be Wrong--The Benefits of Positivity Challenge: Overwhelm Is Keeping You Stuck --> Coach-Approach: Focusing on What's Most Important Once you learn the coach-approval model, it can be applied to any situation—in fact, the more you use it, the easier it all becomes. Constant battles don’t have to be part of your daily life. With The Essential Guide to Raising Complex Kids, you can (all) learn to thrive.

"Holding time" is a breakthrough parenting strategy-a revolutionary approach to mother-child bonding that can make all children happier, more cooperative and more self-confident. This simple, scientific program is based on the nurturing bond that forms when you hold your child. With regular holding time sessions, you'll see your children become more loving and less demanding as your own self-esteem grows. Dr. Welch has already enjoyed remarkable success in solving everything from bed-wetting and hyperactivity to sibling rivalry in patients ranging from infancy to their preteen years. Book jacket.

Duckworth’s parents think he is a difficult child, so when a snake slides right up and swallows him whole, his parents don’t believe him! What’s poor Duckworth to do? Duckworth is a difficult child. At least that’s what his parents think. So when Duckworth tries to explain that a gigantic snake slithered out of his closet, his parents insist it’s all in his head—he is far too old to be imagining such nonsense. (And will he please do his chores?) But even when the cobra slides right up and swallows Duckworth whole, his parents remain unconvinced! (Where did he find that snake costume, and will he please put it away?) What’s poor Duckworth to do when his parents just won’t listen? With nods to the deliciously dark humor of Edward Gorey, Florence Parry Heide, and Jon Klassen, Michael Sussman and Júlia Sardà empathize with children everywhere who must find ways to deal with their difficult parents.

This book examines the development of play skills and schemas to support children with learning differences and physical disabilities in learning to play. It highlights the need for appropriate playground equipment in all school settings that educate children with physical disabilities and sensory needs to ensure equal opportunities for outdoor play. Several play approaches for meeting sensory needs are discussed including Lego therapy, Art therapy, Sand play and Soft play. Digital play for students with physical disabilities is an important chapter in the book. Role play and the ways in which virtual reality and psychodrama support anxieties that some students have is another important chapter. There is also a chapter devoted to parents on how they can support their child at home and how the school can support them. At the end of the book there is a plethora of resources that readers can copy or adapt to suit their setting. The book provides support for those managing outdoor play for these children at peak times of the day. It shows how play-based learning can work in a classroom setting; the importance of sensory profiles and sensory play; and how play therapy can aid neuroplasticity.

The long-awaited new edition of NAEYC's book Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs is here, fully revised and updated! Since the first edition in 1987, it has been an essential resource for the early childhood education field. Early childhood educators have a professional responsibility to plan and implement intentional, developmentally appropriate learning experiences that promote the social and emotional development, physical development and health, cognitive development, and general learning competencies of each child served. But what is developmentally appropriate practice (DAP)? DAP is a framework designed to promote young children's optimal learning and development through a strengths-based approach to joyful, engaged learning. As educators make decisions to support each child's learning and development, they consider what they know about (1) commonality in children's development and learning, (2) each child as an individual (within the context of their family and community), and (3) everything discernible about the social and cultural contexts for each child, each educator, and the program as a whole. This latest edition of the book is fully revised to underscore the critical role social and cultural contexts play in child development and learning, including new research about implicit bias and teachers' own context and consideration of advances in neuroscience. Educators implement developmentally appropriate practice by recognizing the many assets all young children bring to the early learning program as individuals and as members of families and communities. They also develop an awareness of their own context. Building on each child's strengths, educators design and implement learning settings to help each child achieve their full potential across all domains of development and across all content areas.

Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.