Embedded Files
On October 7th, NCHAM will be hosting a webinar: “Introduction to Evidence-based Hearing Screening Practices for Children Ages 0-5”.
Free Webinar Description
Each day, children with hearing loss attend early childhood programs. It's important for staff to learn how to identify these children so they can receive the supports and services they need. Join us for a webinar on improving the quality of hearing screening and evaluation practices for children ages birth to 5. Learn about useful facts and access practical tools to support the development and sustainability of high-quality hearing screening and follow-up methods in Head Start, Early Head Start, and other early care and education program settings.
Upcoming Policy and Advocacy Events
DEC Coffee and Policy Chats
Tuesday, September 30th, 2025, 8:00 PM Eastern Time - Register here.
Thursday, October 2nd, 2025, 2:00 PM Eastern Time - Register here.
Join DEC and your fellow Community Members - Tuesdays and Thursdays every other week September through December 2025! We will discuss current policy issues and share resources. Each chat will begin with 20-30 minutes of federal updates followed by time for you to connect with your peers. Members and non-members alike are welcome to attend! DEC Coffee and Policy Chats are not recorded.
Early Childhood Education Higher Education Huddle
Wednesday, September 24th, 2025, 3:00 to 4:00 PM Eastern Time
Join ACCESS, DEC, NAECTE, NAEYC and TEACH Early Childhood National Center Early Years for our next ECE Higher Education Huddle. This is a virtual space for ECE faculty across degree levels and states to connect on important federal/state policy updates that impact ECE higher ed, strategize with each other and the national organizations about navigating a challenging landscape, share and call for resources that support you in your work, and to just connect. Register here and share this information with fellow ECE higher education colleagues.
CEC's What's Happening in Washington - October 2025 Edition
Thursday, October 2nd, 2025, 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM Eastern Time
Join this event with Kuna Tavalin, CEC's Senior Advisor, Policy and Advocacy. Registration is open here.
Professional Development Opportunity
Learn how to better support infants and toddlers through this three-course online program that was designed by AzEIP and Arizona State University. Explore infant mental health, child development and assessment strategies that emphasize responsive, relationship-based approaches. Designed for early intervention providers, as well as caregivers, each instructor-led course offers practical tools for serving children ages 0–3. Take three courses for the price of two, and complete the full sequence for a limited-time special rate. Starting Oct. 6
https://educatorhub.asu.edu/catalog/early-intervention-bundle/
How to Foster Resilience in Infants and Toddlers: A Guide for Educators and Caregivers
How to Foster Resilience in Infants and Toddlers: A Guide for Educators and Caregivers
This guide shares simple, powerful ways educators and caregivers can help infants and toddlers build the emotional strength they need to face life’s challenges.
Registration is now open for the CEC 2026 Special Education Convention & Expo, which will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah on March 11-14, 2026. Over the coming months, we will have more and more information on the event. This monthly Convention Update will make sure you don’t miss anything important. To be the first to know about all things related to CEC 2026, we encourage you to sign up for our CEC 2026 Mailing List, if you haven’t already.
Register for Pre and Post Workshops
In addition to the hundreds of sessions that will be offered during the Convention itself, CEC will once again be offering full and half-day workshops to provide attendees with an opportunity to gain more in-depth insight into the topics and practices you need to know to improve student outcomes. These workshops do come with a separate fee, but they are the perfect way to kick off or finish your week in Salt Lake City.
Young Exceptional Children- Volume: 28, Number: 2 (June 2025)
DEC members enjoy free access to Young Exceptional Children. Access the full issue here.
Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education Standards
Available in English, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese
The Early Interventionist/Early Childhood Special Educator (EI/ECSE) Standards represent the first standards to focus specifically on the preparation of professionals who work with young children ages birth through 8 who have or are at-risk for developmental delays and disabilities and their families, across home, classroom and community settings. Learn more and download the EI/ECSE Standards here. Related resources include the Standards Overview, Key Ideas and Vignettes, and more.
Teaching Tools for Young Children (TTYC)
Teaching Tools for Young Children (TTYC) offers a straightforward resource for practitioners and coaches to support children who struggle with challenging behavior in routines and activities. TTYC suggests specific step-by-step strategies for practitioners to consider when they know the function (or purpose) of a child’s challenging behavior. Access the resource here.
Four Dispositions to Help Early Childhood Educators Transform Their Practice
Four Dispositions to Help Early Childhood Educators Transform Their Practice
When embraced, these dispositions strengthen relationships, deepen learning and create a more fulfilling teaching experience. They are small shifts that, over time, can transform an educator’s vision and practice.
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
Small shifts over time can transform an educator’s vision and practice.
Approaching children with a sense of wonder can fuel connection and discovery.
Self-awareness and reflective practice helps educators consider the broader picture before responding.
Click Here to read.
Trainings and free webinars for the next year!
Who's ready for another great year of professional development? Our team has been working diligently on next year's trainings and webinars, and we are very excited about what we have on the calendar. Registration is now open, so grab your calendar, your colleagues, and start securing your spots!
Click Here for Free Webinars
Click Here for Trainings
We’re excited to introduce the all-new Baby Brain Map — an interactive tool that details key stages in early brain development and reinforces why investing in the earliest years is so critical.
A Message Amplifier
Show how early experiences shape lifelong outcomes in meetings, testimony and campaigns.
Science That Connects
Link everyday moments to brain development, making a strong case for early investment.
Age-Based Insights
Explore five age ranges to highlight why early timing matters most.
Simple and Scrollable
Easy to use and compelling — perfect for policy briefs, presentations and storytelling.
Click Here for more info
DEC 2025 Conference Registration is Open!
We’re thrilled to announce that registration is officially open for Division for Early Childhood’s 41st Annual International Conference on Young Children with Disabilities and Their Families!
October 7th – 10th, 2025
Oregon Convention Center | Portland, Oregon
This year’s conference is more than just an event — it’s a movement. Join an international community committed to inclusive practices and equitable outcomes for every child.
What to Expect:
Interactive sessions grounded in evidence-based practices
Strategies you can implement right away
Networking with others who share your passion and commitment to early childhood inclusion and equity
A vibrant celebration of 41 years of progress
This is your space to grow, connect, and lead change.
Let’s shape what’s next — together.
Download the Toolkit Register Here
Training Tidbits
Are you short on time, but you love learning? The California Training Institute (CalTrin) released just the thing for you - training tidbits! These videos range from 3 to 10 minutes and provide reminders or reflections for direct service providers. It would be great to review in a staff meeting and kick of a team discussion!
IHE Pre-Service Faculty ECHO Spring 2025 Series “Field and Clinical Experience
Arizona Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD), along with Arizona State University College of Health Solutions is hosting a four-part virtual series on Division of Early Childhood (DEC) standard 8, “Field and Clinical Experience " every Thursday morning starting March 27. Learn More and Register
In this edition of the DEC SC CoP Resource, we are highlighting the updated position statement published by DEC in September 2024, titled “The Role of Special Instruction in Early Intervention.” This revised statement clarifies the role of Special Instruction services and their providers—referred to as “early intervention educators” in the document—within the framework of IDEA (2004) Part C early intervention (EI). Aligned with federal guidelines, it underscores how these services support families of eligible infants and toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities. We wanted to share this resource with service coordinators to help them assist IFSP teams in making informed service decisions that best meet the needs of children and their families.
Arizona State University's Early intervention specialization program
Arizona State University's Early intervention specialization program
On November 12, DES issued a press release that celebrates the launch of the ASU Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Early Intervention Specialization, as DES helped guide ASU in building the program.
This specialization targets early education professionals or families who would like to learn more about the Early Intervention. Find more information about the program or see how it came together.
Click Here to learn more about the Specialization.
DEC SC CoP Monthly Resources
The end of the year and holiday season can often be a time of burnout for Service Coordinators. This tool is a great way to help you reflect on where you are concerning compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue as we dive into the holiday/end-of-year push!
Click Here to go to the Professional Quality of Life website for more info.
Being our best for families begins with taking care of ourselves. Brookes Publishing offers these ten tips on self-care! Click Here for more info.
We encourage each of you to reflect on your tremendous impact on the lives of infants and toddlers with developmental delays and their families.
ICYMI: Check out the recording of our recent webinar on Science X Design
Science X Design is an open-access, self-paced learning module that aims to empower service providers in fields like healthcare, education, and child welfare to identify new opportunities to improve their services. In this webinar, hear an overview of Science X Design and directly from those in the field who’ve started to use the tool.
ADHS Promotes Newborn Screening Education through Video Series
Today, the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) released an educational video series focused on newborn screening. This series aims to increase awareness and understanding of the state's newborn screening program, which tests all newborns for rare but serious medical conditions.
The video series answers important questions for new parents and caregivers, such as: what newborn screening is, what happens if an infant’s test result is out of range, and information about follow-up care for babies with screened conditions.
A New Initiative: Connecting Science and Community
We are excited to share that the Center’s Founding Director, Dr. Jack Shonkoff, has launched a new portfolio of work: Connecting Science and Community: Expanding the Early Childhood Ecosystem to Achieve Greater Impacts. This initiative is designed to catalyze a broader mindset for early childhood investment that includes increased attention to the communities or neighborhoods where children and the adults who care for them live. Its aim is to achieve larger impacts on current well-being and future life outcomes for children who are facing the burdens of poverty, economic insecurity, racism, and other structural inequities. Its strategy draws on advances in developmental biology, lessons learned from direct services for young children and families, and deeper engagement in place-based investments through an early childhood lens. To provide a venue for sharing the story of this new venture, Dr. Shonkoff has launched a new website dedicated specifically to the work of Connecting Science + Community. For more information, click here.
SuperPysched: Dr Dorsay's Award Winning Podcast
Here are some of his podcast Topics:
Women at Work
A Fix for Ageism
Getting Unstuck
Money and Relationships
How things actually get better with age
To Be Loved
Breast Cancer
Motivational Interviewing
The Science of Success
Highly Sensitive People
How expectations can influence outcomes
The Autistic Advantage
Raising Children who aren't a-holes.
Civility, Why we need it.
Sleep is a Skill
Strong Families Learning Festival: Provider Safety
The Best Kept Secret That Shouldn't Be
By Executive Director Claire Louge
If you and I have had a conversation within the last couple of years, you’ve probably heard me talk about FRCs.
Family Resource Centers (FRCs) are welcoming community hubs where families can access formal and informal supports, both in times of need and as a part of regular day-to-day life.
Why is PCAAZ so focused on them now? Because in recent years, as we’ve continued to learn about what our state needs from families and from our partners, all signs are pointing to FRCs.
During my first year as Executive Director of PCAAZ, I got the chance..
Continue Reading why FRCs are so important
Uconn Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities
The Early Childhood Personnel Center
Check out The Early Childhood Personnel Center’s Video Library. This video library contains almost 500 videos that may be of interest
The video library is a compilation of almost 500 videos that may be used in early childhood intervention pre-service courses or in-service training.
LENA : Inside Early Talk
Have you checked out our latest materials on understanding and managing challenging behaviors in children 0-5?
"Talking About Emotions": Our new guide for helping children manage and express their emotions in a positive way. Download it here!
"Understanding Challenging Behaviors" Webinar: Missed our live session? The replay is available! Watch it here.
Blog Post: Expand on the webinar insights with “Understanding Challenging Behavior in Early Childhood Education: A Focus on Communication Skills.” Give it a read!
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