Consultation in Early Childhood Settings

Interventions for young children with disabilities are more effective when the adults involved form collaborative partnerships. That’s why consultation—a systematic process to help educators, parents, and early childhood professionals work together to address concerns and identify goals—is so important. This practical handbook equips you with the skills you need to function as an effective consultant to educators and caregivers of children from birth through age 5, leading you step by step through an 8-stage model that shows you how to

1. initiate contact with the consultee and establish open, respectful communication
2. build rapport while gathering crucial information about the consultee
3. work with the consultee to assess concerns and needs
4. set goals directly related to these concerns and needs
5. select appropriate strategies for meeting the goals
6. prepare the consultee to implement the strategies
7. evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies and the consultation itself
8. hold a summary conference to review outcomes and plan next steps

For each stage, you’ll get a description of key consultation tasks, critical considerations for consultant and consultee, strategies for improving communication, and a “What If” section that addresses potential problems and solutions. This guide will help any early childhood professional serving as a consultant—and anyone in the role of consultee—form strong, respectful partnerships that lead to better child and family outcomes.

Dr. Buysse is Senior Scientist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to directing a program of research on Recognition and Response, a model of response to intervention for prekindergarten, her research interests include innovations in professional development; models such as consultation, coaching, mentoring, and communities of practice that support professional development and program improvement; and educational practices and interventions that address the unique needs of diverse learners—those who have disabilities, who have learning difficulties, or who are dual language learners.

Samuel L. Odom is Director of the Frank Porter Graham (FPG) Child Development Institute and Professor of Education at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to his work at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. Odom previously served in faculty positions at Indiana University and Peabody College/Vanderbilt University. Dr. Odom received a master's degree in special education in 1976 and an educational specialist degree in educational psychology from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1979. He earned his doctorate in 1982 in education and human development from the University of Washington.

Throughout his career, Dr. Odom has held positions as a preschool teacher, student teaching supervisor, program coordinator, teacher educator, and researcher. He has written many articles and chapters about programs for young children and their families and has served as the co-editor of five books on early childhood special education. Dr. Odom is an associate editor for Exceptional Children and is on the editorial board of Journal of Early Intervention, Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, and Early Childhood Research Quarterly. He received the Special Education Outstanding Research Award from the American Educational Research Association Special Education Special Interest Group in 1999, the Merle Karnes Contribution to the Field Award from the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) in 2001, and the Outstanding Special Education Research Award from CEC in 2007.

Dr. Odom's research interests include interventions and teaching approaches that promote social competence of young children, effective intervention approaches for children with autism, and early childhood curricula that promote children's school success.

Patricia W. Wesley, M.Ed., is Senior Scientist at the FPG Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she is also Clinical Instructor in the School of Education. Following a decade as the director of an inclusive preschool, in 1990 she became the director of Partnerships for Inclusion, a statewide training and consultation project supporting the inclusion of children with disabilities and their families in all aspects of community life. In this role, she has developed, implemented, evaluated, and published an on-site model of consultation to enhance quality in early childhood programs. She also has developed several community approaches for building broad-based acceptance of people with disabilities. In addition to early childhood inclusion and consultation, Ms. Wesley's interests include parent leadership and communities of practice in early childhood education. She is a frequent guest reviewer for several professional journals and a popular keynote speaker on the state and national lecture circuit.