The Early Intervention Teaming Handbook: The Primary Service Provider Approach

Early childhood professionals: looking for an effective way to ensure coordinated, family-centered services for young children and families? Discover the why and how of the primary service provider (PSP) approach to teaming, the widely used, evidence-based model that more and more states are adopting to strengthen care and services and improve family outcomes.

Developed by the early childhood experts who pioneered the PSP approach to teaming, this is the first how-to guide that clearly lays out the logistics and benefits of making one team member the consistent point of contact with a family.

You’ll get concrete, practical guidance on how to: Ensure buy-in and support from program leaders and team members Establish a cohesive team that collaborates effectively Fully introduce families to the procedures and practices of the PSP approach Develop family-focused and child-focused IFSP outcome statements Select the most appropriate primary service provider for each family Master the three essential components of a successful home visit Adopt a flexible, activity-based approach to scheduling that promotes child learning and development Coordinate joint visits with other service providers Conduct successful, efficient team meetings to share expertise and resources Realistic case studies and transcripts from team meetings give you vivid demonstrations of best practices, and the photocopiable forms, tools, and checklists guide your team every step of the way as you implement the PSP approach.

The perfect complement to the authors’ bestselling Early Childhood Coaching Handbook, this practical, reader-friendly guide is your blueprint for better, more responsive care and services―and better outcomes for young children and families.

Mâ (TM)Lisa L. Shelden, PT, Ph.D., has a doctoral degree in special education from the University of Oklahoma. She also has a bachelor's degree in physical therapy from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and a master's degree in early childhood special education from the University of Oklahoma (Norman Campus). Dr. Shelden currently serves as the Chair and Program Director of the Department of Physical Therapy at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. Prior to joining the faculty at WSU, she served as Director/Researcher of the Family, Infant and Preschool Program (FIPP) in Morganton, North Carolina where she worked alongside Dr. Rush providing ongoing technical assistance to several statewide early intervention programs to implement evidence‐based early intervention practices in natural settings from 2002-2018.

Dr. Shelden has over 30 years of experience as a physical therapist and special educator. In addition, she received a 2000 National Institute on Disabilities and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) Mary E. Switzer Merit Fellowship. She is a graduate Fellow of the ZERO TO THREE National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. Dr. Shelden has co‐authored several articles related to early intervention teamwork, writing individualized family service plans (IFSPs), coaching, and supporting young children with disabilities and their families in natural learning environments. She has also written a chapter related to physical therapy personnel preparation and service delivery and co‐authored a book titled Physical Therapy under IDEA (McEwen, Arnold, Jones, & Shelden, 2000; American Physical Therapy Association, Section on Pediatrics). Dr. Shelden has co‐authored a previous text Coaching Families and Colleagues in Early Childhood (with Barbara E. Hanft & Dathan D. Rush; 2004, Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.) as well as a chapter on using a primary coach approach to teaming in Working with Families of Young Children with Special Needs (McWilliam, 2010; Guilford Press). She and Dr. Rush are co‐authors of The Early Intervention Teaming Handbook: The Primary Service Provider Approach (Shelden & Rush, 2013). Dr. Shelden has made numerous presentations nationally on topics related to IFSP development and implementation, transition, inclusion, evaluation and assessment, coaching, primary service provider approach to teaming, and provision of supporting children with disabilities and their families in natural learning environments.

Dathan D. Rush, Ed.D., CCC‐SLP, has a doctoral degree in child and family studies from Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and a master's degree in speech‐language pathology from Oklahoma State University. Dr. Rush is currently the Director of the Family, Infant and Preschool Program (FIPP) in Morganton, North Carolina. He provides ongoing technical assistance to several statewide early intervention programs to implement evidence‐based early intervention practices in natural settings. Dr. Rush previously served as Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, teaching early childhood intervention in the graduate program. He has more than 30 years of experience as a practitioner and early intervention program director and has managed a number of training contracts with various state agencies and organizations. He served as an editorial board member of Infants and Young Children until 2002 and has published articles in the area of coaching families in early intervention, in‐service training, and teaming in early intervention. He is also a past president and former executive council member of the Oklahoma Speech‐Language‐Hearing Association. Dr. Rush has presented numerous workshops nationally on topics related to writing and implementing individualized family service plans, team building, using a primary service provider approach to teaming, coaching, and supporting young children with disabilities and their families in natural learning environments. Dr. Rush has also co‐authored a previous book on coaching in early childhood intervention as well as a chapter on using a primary coach approach to teaming in Working with Families of Young Children with Special Needs (McWilliam, 2010; Guilford Press). He and Dr. Shelden are co‐authors of The Early Intervention Teaming Handbook: The Primary Service Provider Approach (Shelden & Rush, 2013).

Robin McWilliam is the originator of the Routines‐Based Model, implemented in 10 countries and many states in the U.S. He is a professor of special education at The University of Alabama, where he founded and directs the Evidence‐based International Early Intervention Office (EIEIO). He is also the founder and leader of the RAM Group, an international community of practice fostering the Routines‐Based Model. He has formerly been a professor of pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, a senior scientist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, and a professor of education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. McWilliam's research centers on infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with and without disabilities, with a specific focus on child engagement, service delivery models, and collaboration with families. He has provided consultation, training, and technical assistance across the United States and in some countries overseas on providing early intervention in natural environments and on the Engagement Classroom Model. His Routines-Based Interview (RBI) is a widely used method of assessing families' needs and developing individualized family service plan (IFSP) outcomes and individualized education program (IEP) goals.